Puzzles To Ponder

Years ago I raised a question which never resulted in a satisfactory answer.

The question dealt with glass or plastic bottles filled with water and placed in a number of front and back yards, a supposed remedy to the problem of yards soiled with dog poop. According to what some pholks claim, the dogs will stay out of the yard. The result, so the claim goes, is a clean lawn cluttered only with jars and bottles filled with water.

Many people swear it works, but nobody ever came up with a satisfactory answer as to why it works--if, indeed, it does.

I remember trying it on my own yard and not really being able to determine if anything had changed. Perhaps the neighborhood dogs did something else with the newspaper other than read the column--and left messages about what they thought about my writing. Anyhow, I never to this day have had anyone provide proof that the gimmick works and if so, why. Was it the reflection of sunlight through the water in the daylight or the moonglow at night? Was it the reflection of the wayward doggie which scared him or her? Was it the shame of seeing the reflection of themself doing their thing on someone else’s yard?

Well now pholks, I have another puzzler, thanks to another columnist whose work was taken off the Internet and forwarded to me. The writer, Katie Thompson lives and writes in Iowa and has been looking into a phenomena similar to the doggie-water bottle thing.

Seems like plastic sandwich bags filled halfway with water and taped to the doors of a Spencer, Iowa truck stop are the latest method of keeping flies away. The plastic bags have been spotted in other places around the Iowa community including one company in an industrial park and at an area hospital. Supposedly flies avoid half filled plastic bags.

Claims of success seem to abound despite one major hazard which seems to have been spawned by the bags themselves. People tend to peel the bags off the doors, making a true test of their effectiveness somewhat difficult to measure.

The writer did what I did on the water bottle thing--raised the question of why. She wrote: “Perhaps the reflections in the water make a difference , somehow scaring or confusing the flies. Do flies respond to sunlight?”

In answer to that question, the columnist quoted somebody named Abe Thomas, director of marketing for Actron, Inc. a California company specializing in chemical-free fly control in the food service industry. “They certainly do” respond to sunlight, Thomas said, explaining that the little pests are ”phototropic,”(attracted to light).

He went on to state that ultraviolet light is what really attracts houseflies. UV rays come from sunlight or specialized light bulbs. That’s why, he explained, that flies inside a home are usually found on the window in the morning. The little buggers are hunting for sunlight. The California company makes products which use light traps to attract the flies to sticky surfaces.

But the guy could not explain why the water bags supposedly work. In true technical fashion he commented: “It’s not holy water?”

Another expert, an entomology professor from Iowa State University, pulled no punches and minced no words in response to the question of why the water bags would or would not work. “I have no earthly idea.”

So now pholks, we have another burning question to ponder. And to be honest, as I always attempt to be, I doubt we will get any real answer to this new puzzle. Sure, we could speculate and have some fun with this thing. Perhaps we could come up with something which might seem logical or practical or even scientifically correct. I doubt it. It is just something to ponder, to contemplate. If you want to have a little fun at your next social shindig, why not bring the question up over a cold beer or a chilled martini? Or maybe over coffee in the break room at work.

How about that as a hot topic in the on-line chat rooms! That should break the ice with someone from Iowa, Georgia, Arkansas, or maybe Florida.

It may not be the best topic, but I think it is a small step from the dog poop puzzle.