History of the Ouija Board

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The Ouija board was invented by Elijah Bond in 1891. He was partners with Charles Cannard in the Kennedy Novelty Company. It is a board with letters, numbers, and the words 'yes', 'no', and 'goodbye'. It also includes a planchet that is used to decipher messages from the spirit world. They were also assisted by Bond's sister-in-law, Helens Peter Nozworthy who was known for her involvement in spiritualism and mediumship. The Chief Patent Office was skeptical. The head officer told them if the board would correctly spell out his name which had been kept secret he would give them the patent. Nervous Bond takes out the board and it spells his name which was Peters. So on February 10, 1891, they received the patent. It became the ultimate date game. In the Victorian era, you weren't supposed to be alone with those of the opposite sex much less touch one another. It was built so that you put it on your knees and your fingers would touch. The instructions read that for best results it was to be used with two people. This is why men wanted to buy it for women. During the Vietnam War Parker Brothers bought the game and it outsold Monopoly. It is said that the board actually came up with its own name. When asked at one session it spelled out the word and that it means "Good Luck". It is also called a talking board, spirit board, and, witch board. It is also said that it is a good idea to always have someone well-versed in spirituality with you when you use the board. Evil spirits have been known to escape and unless one is knowledgeable it can cause some real problems. Does anyone have one or has ever used one? I used to and when I heard the stories about it I got rid of it. Picture is from portalprogramas.com