00:00 This podcast episode is about how Ouija boards work.

04:02 The Ouija board is an American invention that was created in the mid-19th century and was part of the spiritualism movement, but it was not marketed as a tool to communicate with spirits until the 1920s.

08:21 The Ouija board was originally used by mediums in the spiritualism movement, but it was later marketed as a party game and entertainment.

12:28 The design and gameplay of the Ouija board has changed very little since its original creation in the 19th century.

16:36 To use a Ouija board, you need to have two or more people lightly resting their fingertips on the planchette, which is a plastic heart-shaped board with a circular plastic disc in the middle that shows the letters, numbers, or words that the spirit is communicating.

20:45 When using a Ouija board, the movement of the planchette is actually caused by an involuntary motion called idio motion, where the thoughts of the participants unconsciously move the board to answer questions.

25:00 The movement of the planchette on a Ouija board is caused by idio motion, where the participants unconsciously move the board in the direction they desire, and this is similar to facilitated communication, where a caregiver guides the fingers of a disabled person to communicate, but the caregiver is unaware that they are making the movements.

29:23 The podcast discusses real-life stories involving Ouija boards, including a case where a woman tortured and killed her husband based on a message she received from the board, and an Italian community in California that experienced mass hysteria due to Ouija board use.

33:43 Ouija boards were banned in some towns and a British author's racist experience with a Ouija board supposedly inspired his creation of the villain Dr. Fu Manchu.