Study Shows Worm Grunters Imitate Moles 110
Science_afficionado writes "In the southeastern US, fisherman have an unusual way to collect earthworms for bait. The practice is called worm grunting, fiddling, snoring, or charming. It involves pounding a wooden stake into the ground and rubbing the top of the stake with a long piece of steel to produce a grunting sound that causes earthworms to come to the surface where they can be easily collected for bait. A study published today in the open access journal PLoS ONE shows that the technique works because the worm grunters are unknowingly imitating the sounds created by burrowing moles. Full text of the paper is available at PLoS ONE."
Re:I guess... (Score:2, Informative)
Yes, 2 metal rods pushed 6 inches deep about 2 to 3 feet apart and connected to a fully charged car battery usually does the trick. They surface pretty quick.
Re:Simply stick a spade... (Score:4, Informative)
* water drains the other way if you're in Australia
No it doesn't. http://physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/thecorioliseffect [suite101.com]
Re:Really news? (Score:3, Informative)
I'd hazard to guess that most slashdot readers are city-folk who had never heard of such a thing before.
So objectively newsworthy since the research has shown one of the explanations to likely be true. And subjectively newsworthy since the bulk of the readership will have never heard of it before.
Yes the original articles language might be a bit on the hype it up side. Then again, maybe that particular technique of a rubbing a stake with a piece of metal is uncommon elsewhere? And the study only looked at it, other techniques might have a different mechanism.