Necessity is the mother of inventions, and you often get to see this idiom in play as it stands true in all corners of the world. Everywhere people come up with new ideas to tackle their common regional problems in non-conventionally creative ways. For instance, people cover their heads with polythene bags when it rains in case they don’t wet their head.
A similar situation could be noticed if you happen to visit the American South in the summers. You will be puzzled to see the great number of plastic bags filled with water, dangling from trees or doorknobs throughout the area. At first look, the reason may not make any sense to you in fact it may even appear strange as it doesn’t make any sense. It’s the normal response and that’s what lead us to unravel the reason behind this mystery.
On a closer look, the zip-lock plastic bags can be found containing something other than water in them. There is no standard version of it because these plastic bags are found to have different types of small objects anchored or floating around inside. These objects usually vary from pennies to pieces of tin foil. However, the commonality of all these bags is the location they can be found at as everyone seems to be hanging them in yards or at the entrance of their house or restaurants.
A plastic bag filled with water and two pennies hung outside a door? Can anybody tell me a reasonable excuse why this is being done?
From the numbers of it, it is safe to say that the idea has received much popularity in the area and it has become a trend to a great extent. Moreover the internet is also flooded with tutorials regarding this odd craft, and people really believe that it fulfills the purpose it is designed for.
Interestingly, the prevalent theory about the matter is that these plastic bags act as fly-repellants. People have put this idea to test and many claim it as an effective way to ward off pesky bugs.
Regardless of how efficiently it may seem to be working, one needs to understand the principle behind it because we are living in the 21st century and we cannot overlook the science behind things. When you look into it there are different theories for why exactly the contraption keeps the flies away.
Everybody hates flies especially in the summer. Here is a good way to keep those pesky flies away. Fill a bag halfway with water. Put 3 pennies in bag. Place bag where you want to keep them away from: on porch, garages etc.
Here are the three of the most popular explanations behind this craft. The first theory states that on approaching the bag of water the flies are tricked into thinking that they are in close proximity of water storage, which in turn discourages them from going any further or landing there. Second theory is more plausible as it is more scientifically correct than the first one. As we all know that water acts as a magnifying glass for small objects inside a bag containing water, but unlike humans, flies are unaware of the science behind it hence they are bothered by this effect and keep away. In addition it also plays with their sensitive eyes.
The third theory has been backed by the Tennessee Farm Bureau as it considers this to be the most likely of them all. The bureau is confident that the repelling ability of the plastic bags has to do with refraction of light.
“The fly bases his movement by light,” the Bureau stated in an article, “and the refracted light coming through the water in the plastic bag confuses the fly causing him to move on to a place that is easier on the eyes.”
On the other hand, there are also those sources that question the efficacy of these makeshift bug-deterrents. For instance, Snopes.com has a totally different take on the matter. They strongly believe that the people supporting the claim that the bag works as a bug repellent are being baffled by their imagination. It is highly probable that they just happen to observe the bag at times when there are fewer flies around it for reasons unknown, and this has made them jump to a wrong conclusion.
The Tennessee Farm Bureau doesn’t deny this claim from Snopes.com all out. They accept that any of the assumptions can be true and the bags can just be an “old wives’ tale.” Having acknowledged that, they still encourage people to keep on trying the idea as there is no harm in trying, and why stop if it is working.
Keeping all the views in mind, we think it is worth a shot. Flies are not going to stop from ruining a perfect day, so why stop from trying to counter them by this cheap and easy trick.
Try out the trick of the bag for yourself and share your experiences in the comments section below, and don’t forget to Liked Video on Facebook.
