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Study Shows Worm Grunters Imitate Moles
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."
But what do the earthworms do if not collected?
And, guess what:
Worms that were not collected began to burrow back into the ground after traveling some distance.
Damned, and i always thought that disgruntled grunted worms do a kind of lapdance. Puh, another dream not come true.
Worm sign detected.
It's news for nerds...
Come to think of it, I noticed that my mom is doing this method whenever I instinctively go up from the basement...
YOU KILLED THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/resources/wormgrunt_harvest_800.jpg
Less noise than a Thumper, smaller worms than Arrakis. Lame.