What are the bags of water for?

If you've ever eaten out on the patio at Rudy's in north Austin, you've seen the clear plastic bags of water hanging from the rafters. (I think we talk about those odd fixtures every time we eat there.) We've been told that the bags of water keep flies away, but I was never sure that was true.

But if you hear something kooky like that from many different sources, does that make it true?

Alton Brown is back on the road in "Feasting on Asphalt" on the Food Network. This year, they're riding up the Mississippi River, starting in New Orleans. In the first episode, AB was in a seafood shop, and noticed the bags of water hanging from the ceiling. Sure enough, the proprietor told him the bags were keeping the flies away!

Here's a pseudo-scientific explanation. Believe what you will. (Having been to Rudy's and met up with some flies that clearly weren't intimidated by the bags of water, I'm still not convinced that it works!) And here's another article specifying that "Scientists say the method has no real merit..." So it's still up for debate.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Random...
SpinalCat said…
This topic just keeps popping up. Last night while watching Feasting On Asphalt, my husband asks me if I was present for a conversation about those bags the other day. I wasn't, but I knew I had seen something somewhere- on my Ravelry friends' blogs page!

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