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One fun thing to do with a swarm of bug near a light is to take out your keys and shake them. Keys will often ring in the ultrasonic and poorly mimic the frequ

One fun thing to do with a swarm of bug near a light is to take out your keys and shake them. Keys will often ring in the ultrasonic and poorly mimic the frequencies that a lot of bats use. If you have a population of bats that hunt near you, the bugs will typically just drop. Like, just drop to the ground as fast as they can. They know the sound of hunting bats and your keys may be just close enough to that sound that they think they're being hunted. So they do the best that they can to get out of the way and go with gravity. At least, that's my theory. Fun little thing to do as a bet or with the kiddos.

trklausss 3y ago
Well you have no sources and you can be full of it. But following the scientific method, I’ll try your hypothesis next chance I have! :D
- guappa 3y ago
  Too bad it's winter and I'll probably forget this before I have a chance to!
- JR1427 3y ago
  If this turns out to not be true, and just said for the amusement of thinking of all the people jiggling their keys at insects, it reminds me of something a friend in high-school said to me: "If you peel a banana, take a bite off the top, and then poke your index finger in to the middle of it, it will split in to perfect thirds". Upon trying this, I discovered it was not true, and my friend just wanted to see me stick my finger in a banana...
  - ithkuil 3y ago
    I never tried (yet) but a quick search reveals a lot of people filming the "banana split in thirds" action, e.g. https://youtu.be/NoGXTXsamt4?si=ANNTdtcu1trOdQXP https://youtu.be/NoGXTXsamt4?si=ANNTdtcu1trOdQXP It's still technically possible it's a hoax but, boy, that's a lot of effort to provide fake content to support the hoax.
    - OJFord 3y ago
      ?t=40s Nice. Maybe GP got the wrong end, or it is a test of ripeness, or perhaps 'bite off the end' ruined it (it at least didn't seem to be necessary in the linked video).
  - ginsider_oaks 3y ago
    funnily my friend just discovered that you can split it into thirds a few day ago and now does it whenever he eats a banana
  - ProllyInfamous 3y ago
    A banana does actually third itself when split. I'm still going to shake my keys at the next swarm I passby.
  - JR1427 3y ago
    Ha, no way! All this time I thought this was him being silly! (For the record, the banana did NOT split nicely)
  - JackFr 3y ago
    "If you hand is larger than your face . . . "
  - johndunne 3y ago
    Actually, I do this when making a banana split. Cut a piece off the top and then slowly press the banana into thirds. Then, lower the banana, with the bottom part of the banana still intact, into a tall glass. Smoother with cream, ice cream and/or syrup. Makes for a solid banana split.
m463 3y ago
some moths have countermeasures John said, “Listen, you can hear the jammer.” The what? “The jammer,” he said, “Watch the moths.” It turns out the moths, through evolution, had developed their own electronic countermeasures to jam the bat radar. https://steveblank.com/2009/03/23/if-i-told-you-i%e2%80%99d-have-to-kill-you-the-story-behind-the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley/ https://steveblank.com/2009/03/23/if-i-told-you-i%e2%80%99d-...
- lfaw 3y ago
  fascinating! There's also a wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolocation_jamming?useskin=vector#Jamming_by_prey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolocation_jamming?useskin=v...
vlz 3y ago
Interesting, I heard a story once that you can catch bats with keys: Put a bunch of keys in a sock and throw that in the air. If there is a bat near enough it might dive for and grab the object, then it gets drawn to the ground because the keys are too heavy. There you can catch it if you are quick. Might be an urban myth, though it seems like it might just work.
- ersiees 3y ago
  more of a rural myth, I guess ;D
- hk__2 3y ago
  Note that depending on your area this might be illegal. In France for example, bats are a protected species and it’s forbidden to kill or capture them.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    Also depending on your area, there's a chance the bat may scratch you without you realizing it, and a few months or years later, you suddenly go mad and die in agony. At least I'm more scared of rabies than any government fine. By the time you know something is wrong, you're already a corpse that's about to remember to stop moving.
    - crossroadsguy 3y ago
      Rabies can lay that dormant? And there’s no test?
      - js2 3y ago
        Apparently, yes, and while there are tests, it's probably too late once symptoms have appeared: > Rabies virus travels through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain. This process can last approximately 3 to 12 weeks. The animal has no signs of illness during this time.[^1] > Several tests are necessary to diagnose rabies ante-mortem (before death) in humans; no single test is sufficient. Tests are performed on samples of saliva, serum, spinal fluid, and skin biopsies of hair follicles at the nape of the neck.[^2] > Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Less than 20 cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been documented.[^3] [^1]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html [^2]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html [^3]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/symptoms/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/symptoms/index.html
mihaaly 3y ago
I need to buy an ultrasonic whistle and experiment with this! :)
cubefox 3y ago
Apparently bees also drop when you turn the light off: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OmG0OT6MWC8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=OmG0OT6MWC8
gwern 3y ago
Have you ever done that?
fennecfoxy 3y ago
This is also hilarious too: https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/17jw3gm/dude_uses_his_phones_flashlight_to_move_away_moths/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/17jw3gm/d...

trklausss 3y ago

Well you have no sources and you can be full of it. But following the scientific method, I’ll try your hypothesis next chance I have! :D

guappa 3y ago
Too bad it's winter and I'll probably forget this before I have a chance to!
JR1427 3y ago
If this turns out to not be true, and just said for the amusement of thinking of all the people jiggling their keys at insects, it reminds me of something a friend in high-school said to me: "If you peel a banana, take a bite off the top, and then poke your index finger in to the middle of it, it will split in to perfect thirds". Upon trying this, I discovered it was not true, and my friend just wanted to see me stick my finger in a banana...
- ithkuil 3y ago
  I never tried (yet) but a quick search reveals a lot of people filming the "banana split in thirds" action, e.g. https://youtu.be/NoGXTXsamt4?si=ANNTdtcu1trOdQXP https://youtu.be/NoGXTXsamt4?si=ANNTdtcu1trOdQXP It's still technically possible it's a hoax but, boy, that's a lot of effort to provide fake content to support the hoax.
  - OJFord 3y ago
    ?t=40s Nice. Maybe GP got the wrong end, or it is a test of ripeness, or perhaps 'bite off the end' ruined it (it at least didn't seem to be necessary in the linked video).
- ginsider_oaks 3y ago
  funnily my friend just discovered that you can split it into thirds a few day ago and now does it whenever he eats a banana
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
  A banana does actually third itself when split. I'm still going to shake my keys at the next swarm I passby.
- JR1427 3y ago
  Ha, no way! All this time I thought this was him being silly! (For the record, the banana did NOT split nicely)
- JackFr 3y ago
  "If you hand is larger than your face . . . "
- johndunne 3y ago
  Actually, I do this when making a banana split. Cut a piece off the top and then slowly press the banana into thirds. Then, lower the banana, with the bottom part of the banana still intact, into a tall glass. Smoother with cream, ice cream and/or syrup. Makes for a solid banana split.

m463 3y ago

some moths have countermeasures John said, “Listen, you can hear the jammer.” The what? “The jammer,” he said, “Watch the moths.” It turns out the moths, through evolution, had developed their own electronic countermeasures to jam the bat radar. https://steveblank.com/2009/03/23/if-i-told-you-i%e2%80%99d-have-to-kill-you-the-story-behind-the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley/ https://steveblank.com/2009/03/23/if-i-told-you-i%e2%80%99d-...

lfaw 3y ago
fascinating! There's also a wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolocation_jamming?useskin=vector#Jamming_by_prey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolocation_jamming?useskin=v...

vlz 3y ago

Interesting, I heard a story once that you can catch bats with keys: Put a bunch of keys in a sock and throw that in the air. If there is a bat near enough it might dive for and grab the object, then it gets drawn to the ground because the keys are too heavy. There you can catch it if you are quick. Might be an urban myth, though it seems like it might just work.

ersiees 3y ago
more of a rural myth, I guess ;D
hk__2 3y ago
Note that depending on your area this might be illegal. In France for example, bats are a protected species and it’s forbidden to kill or capture them.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Also depending on your area, there's a chance the bat may scratch you without you realizing it, and a few months or years later, you suddenly go mad and die in agony. At least I'm more scared of rabies than any government fine. By the time you know something is wrong, you're already a corpse that's about to remember to stop moving.
  - crossroadsguy 3y ago
    Rabies can lay that dormant? And there’s no test?
    - js2 3y ago
      Apparently, yes, and while there are tests, it's probably too late once symptoms have appeared: > Rabies virus travels through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain. This process can last approximately 3 to 12 weeks. The animal has no signs of illness during this time.[^1] > Several tests are necessary to diagnose rabies ante-mortem (before death) in humans; no single test is sufficient. Tests are performed on samples of saliva, serum, spinal fluid, and skin biopsies of hair follicles at the nape of the neck.[^2] > Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Less than 20 cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been documented.[^3] [^1]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html [^2]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html [^3]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/symptoms/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/symptoms/index.html

mihaaly 3y ago

I need to buy an ultrasonic whistle and experiment with this! :)

cubefox 3y ago

Apparently bees also drop when you turn the light off: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OmG0OT6MWC8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=OmG0OT6MWC8

gwern 3y ago

Have you ever done that?

fennecfoxy 3y ago

This is also hilarious too: https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/17jw3gm/dude_uses_his_phones_flashlight_to_move_away_moths/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/17jw3gm/d...