Hi guys,
unsure about shoes as such, but Abbé Mermet wrote that it was vital to have your right foot in contact with the ground when you dowsed (I presume for right-handed individuals but I'll check that. At any rate, that was written in 1937 when in Ireland, you were beaten if you were lefthanded (made to use your right) and so I can guess that authoritarian Europe of the day was no different).
Art, you often mention that, about lifting your foot and 'breaking' the circuit?
Sorry Jimmy, don't mean to stray off topic, but this 'may' be relevant.