Talking Boards Evolve into Ouija
The Ancient Talking Board Becomes Modernized
The desire to communicate with the dead has been a goal of mankind since ancient times. Methods have been developed and practices evolved over the years. The use of talking boards had been found in many cultures and becmae very popular in the social culture of the nineteenth century.
History of the Talking Board
Devices similar to the talking board have been used in many ancient cultures. The Egyptians would attach a ring to a thread and hold it over a circular table. The ring would touch symbols depicted on the table and provide answers to questions.
In China, devices similar to talking boards had been used to communicate with spirits since 500 B.C. The Greeks used a wheeled table that would point to signs. The signs were believed to messages from the spiritual world. The wheeled table was used up to the nineteenth century.
Romans used types of devises similar to talking boards in the third century. The thirteenth century saw the Mongols use their version of the talking board. There were Native American tribes that consulted a squdilate board to find missing people and obtain advice from the spiritual world.
In 1853, a device called the planchette was invented in Europe. The planchette was a triangular or heart-shaped device with a pencil attached underneath. A medium or other individual would guide the device over paper and the pencil would compose message or produce drawings.
Adolphus Theodore Wagner filed a patent for a talking board in 1854. Wagner, a professor of music, filed the documents in London, England. His device was described as being composed of wooden pieces connected to each other so that they all could have free motion. The patent indicated the device was a psychograph, an apparatus that would display a person’s thoughts by the measurement of nervous electricity. This nervous electricity would use letters and numerals printed on the board to reveal the individuals thoughts.
The Origins of the Ouija Board
The term Ouija is a combination of the French word "oui" and the German word "ja." To translate in English, the term "Ouija" means "yes-yes."
Elijah J. Bond was granted a patent ion 1891 for the first modern Ouija board. William Fuld purchased the rights to the product in 1892. Fuld and other manufacturers such as Haskelite, Kennard and Lee each created their own design of the Ouija over the course of sixty years. Some boards were very ornate with images of pyramids, swamis and mystical locations. Other designs depicted pictures of witches, black cats and devils.
Fuld and his brother Isaac began to market the Ouija to the American public. The Ouija board became a very popular item as people bought to communicate with loved ones killed during the two World Wars. The Ouija board also became a popular game for amusement. Over the course of many years, the Fuld brothers sold so many Ouija boards that is became more difficult to keep up with the demand.
Parker Brothers purchased the rights to produce the Ouija board in 1966. The Ouija board sold more units than the game of Monopoly in 1967. Parker Brothers sold millions of Ouija boards over the course of the years.
Sources:
International Ghost Hunting Society
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