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13 Things 2008
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
The exact origin of the Ouija board is unknown. Objects similar to the Ouija board date as far back as 551 BC to Ancient China where spirit boards were commonplace items used to communicate with the dead. It is claimed that Pythagoras used talking boards to enhance his studies and "unearth revelations from the unseen world." Talking boards also have connections to Ancient Rome where two people used the Ouija board to predict the successor to the king. They were tried for treason and eventually hung and the claimed successor was immediately executed. (Hunt, 5)