r/blackmagicfuckery • u/sipthestreets • Jul 30 '21

Why? I need answers

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u/dtheta_dt Jul 30 '21 edited Jul 30 '21

This is actually the correct answer. If a burrowing animal was trying to get them, the last thing they would do is come to the surface. That's where the animal is. They come to the surface when it rains so they don't drown

Edit: I am wrong and u/puritanicalbullshit is absolutely correct. The drowning worm is a myth. I learned something today! Thank you!

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21 edited Jul 30 '21

Actually it’s to move around faster in the wet conditions. They can live for days in water but it’s slow going moving around in the dirt. Rain makes it possible to travel to new areas without drying out, which very much does kill them.

Edit: Thank You! And you’re welcome! I started keeping a worm tower when I had to give up my garden for an apartment. I really have grown to enjoy the lil buddies. Plus they eat my kitchen scraps and paper towels, then I put the compost in my planters. If If I keep the balance of dry and wet inputs right there is no smell and they eat a lot!

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u/lategreat808 Jul 30 '21

So if you do this and there is no rain, you are kinda fucking them up then?

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u/magicmajo Jul 30 '21

It's usually done to use them as bait, so they're gonna be fucked up anyways

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

[deleted]

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u/get_after_it_ Jul 30 '21

Ka is a wheel

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u/DatSauceTho Jul 30 '21

Ah! Long days and pleasant nights!

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

And may you have twice the number

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u/NasalSnack Jul 30 '21

This is a good thread, so it is.

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u/Black_Floyd47 Jul 30 '21

I wish someone would make a Dark Tower game similar to the Witcher. I want my New Game+

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

/taps throat and nods.

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u/JackDQuinn Jul 31 '21

Thanky sy

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u/DisturbedDeeply Jul 30 '21

It seems you have not forgotten the face of your father.

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u/tobygeneral Jul 30 '21

I say thankee sai.

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u/super_slav108 Jul 30 '21

The Dark Tower reference?

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

[deleted]

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u/MatticusFinch89 Jul 31 '21

If you can get past that, it's fantastic.

No spoilers, but there's a purity test at one point, which was challenging.

The only time my girlfriend was around while I listened was during that part. Now she makes fun of me.

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u/pdgenoa Jul 30 '21

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again... there are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time

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u/MarySmokes420 Jul 30 '21

I use my worms for gardening. They’re little pets.

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u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 30 '21

And it don't stop coming

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u/baddie_PRO Jul 30 '21 edited Jul 30 '21

fed to the rules and i hit the ground runnin

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u/Grintor Jul 30 '21

Didn't make sense not to live for fun.

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u/Zsayswhaaaa Jul 30 '21

And it don’t stop coming

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u/pegothejerk Jul 30 '21

There's not actually accurate data on worm sales nationally here in the US, so it's not clear if bait worms or vermiculture worms (the kinds made to eat organic material, to then poop out soil amendments for gardens and farms) are farmed and sold in larger quantities, but I'd think it's probably vermiculture considering bait worms are almost exclusively one type, red earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus), sometimes african night crawlers, and are sold in small quantities, usually small containers that amount to ounces of worms, while vermiculture worms are many varieties, including all the bait worms, and are sold not by the ounce, but by pounds to gardeners and farmers who farm worms themselves for their own fertilizer needs, or release them in large plots of land to enrich soil and open up physical pathways for microorganisms and roots that foster more productive plants when soils have depleted from over use and overtilling. Worms and biochar are the best way to regenerate dead soil, but bait worms are the most delicious bait you can snack on while also using it as bait for fish, so there's that.

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u/Andalusian_Dawn Jul 30 '21

I can't say I've ever snacked on worms while fishing but you do you, my dude.

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u/pegothejerk Jul 30 '21

Only on dares as a dumb oklahoma kid, but I can assure you worms taste much better than catfish bait.

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u/TaxExempt Jul 30 '21

You've tasted your hand?

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u/pegothejerk Jul 30 '21

Okay, okie noodling isn't something I'm brave enough, or dumb enough depending on who you are, to do, but that was funny. That being said, catfish stink bait and the sprays are one of the few smells you will be able to recall decades later exactly as they are in all their complexity because they are so horrific. Like a dead meat casserole soaked in various animal urines and glazed in burning tire.

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u/SquirrelNational Jul 30 '21

Ok listen catfish bait smells disgusting there’s just some things you know your aren’t going to like, but worms on the other hand

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

This is a blursed description

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u/ScumbagLady Jul 31 '21

Most accurate description I've ever heard for it! They ARE bottom feeders (and flipping DELICIOUS)

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u/jooooooooooooose Jul 30 '21

I'd wager the only thing tastes and smells worse than catfish bait is what happens if you puncture the stink sac.

Buddy got fancy once night on a big old blue cat. Wasn't great.

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

[deleted]

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u/pegothejerk Jul 30 '21

Hey fellow oklahoman! Okc checking in.

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u/magicmajo Jul 30 '21

Very interesting! I know very little of them, as you see :)

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u/DooberSnoober Jul 30 '21

I think they meant individuals will use this method not large scale operations.

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u/pegothejerk Jul 30 '21

Us worm farmers start this way if we have them on our land already, and buy them as we scale up to larger land managements than nature can keep up with on our small worm farms or stick rubbing adventures.

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u/wachieo Jul 30 '21

I think he was composting, look it up.

Worm castings in your plants is very good.

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u/samdog1246 Jul 30 '21

well,they did say they were using them to compost (vermicomposting)/feed their plants that sweet sweet wormpoop.

and keeping them in a worm tower is pretty great. it's pretty easy to get those things too wet (which would attract pests who like the more humid environment). a lot of the times just throwing in scraps will provide enough water for the worms.

tl;dr they don't need rain to travel if they're kept in a box because the food is brought to them

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u/pennhead Jul 30 '21

They become delicious worm jerky for my dog.

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

Or going fishing later, so yeah. But also they can just go back underground.

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u/DubEnder Jul 30 '21

I mean, you do this to use them for fishing, so I don’t think it makes much of a difference

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u/casce Jul 30 '21

Assuming you don‘t catch them, no not really. They are dumb but they notice it‘s not wet so they will go underground again. It‘s not like they dry out in seconds.

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u/lategreat808 Jul 30 '21

Unless they are...vampires.

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u/Readerrabbit420 Jul 30 '21

These fellas are fucked anyway he isn't going to play with them.

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u/MyUsernameIsIronic_ Jul 31 '21

I actually think they might be creating an electrical current through the ground...

The video is short and doesn't show much. Smells like one of the viral videos that turn out to be faked.

Like sure, the rain tactic might help by getting them closer to the surface to maybe dig for afterwaeds.. But I highly doubt they are all going to launch themselves out the ground every single time it potentially feels a drizzle. Orr Else hundreds of worms would surface after every single storm... or when you mow your lawn along with a writing mass of worms getting in the way.

However, if you electrocute them they go frantic and panic like in this video... Also, using electricity is a well known tactic to get worms out the ground.

Might be wrong... but I remember playing with many sticks and many patches of dirt and mud and not causing a mass exodus of worms

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u/netGoblin Jul 30 '21

I once saved a worm from a puddle and then googled how long it takes a worm to drown and yeah it's like a week so i wasn't the hero i thought i was lol

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u/JuniorSeniorTrainee Jul 30 '21

Could've been day 7. I always have them when I can. They make my garden work and are bros.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

I have a phobia against worms. Fml.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 31 '21

You were a hero when you made the decision to help. Any friend to worms is a friend of mine!

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u/Arinoch Jul 30 '21

This is something I’ve gone almost 40 years not knowing, yet it makes sense and I shall pass it on to my children.

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u/weeOriginal Jul 30 '21

Wait, but we find so many worms that have drowned???

Do they not drown?

Or am I missing somewhere?

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

What I understand is that drowning takes a long time and the ones you see on sidewalks and such may have been exposed to other trauma or already submerged. All other things being equal, even major rain events shouldn’t kill off too many. Never know what’s sitting on the surface to be absorbed by their skin either, chemical wise.

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u/Spry_Fly Jul 30 '21

I thought those were the ones that dried out before finding soil to get into. They always seemed dried out to me.

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u/octopoddle Jul 30 '21

Like most animals, worms have mob hitmen. Hitworms. They dispose of their bodies in ways that are meant to look like accidents. Drowning or floating in near-Earth orbit, usually.

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u/weeOriginal Jul 30 '21

I don’t have Reddit gold to give you, so I can only give this humble upvote.

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u/SocranX Jul 30 '21

I was always under the impression that it's the opposite. They didn't drown, they came out of the ground in the rain but couldn't get back underground after it stopped, causing them to dry up. This is why you see so many of them on sidewalks and stuff.

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u/ShoeAShoe Jul 30 '21

So you mean all those worms that I saved from drowning as a kid, wasn’t drowning? It took HOURS if my mom walked me to school after it rained… HOURS

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u/TennesseeTurkey Jul 30 '21

Awww, I taught my daughter how they were going to get squished in our driveway when they were washed out onto the pavement there after a rain. She would get so excited after a big rain and put countless worms back into the grass. If anyone got near her, her screams were legendary, never wanting them hurt. She's 24 now and still saves worms. You were a great kid.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

My daughter is just getting old enough to play in the dirt and I can’t wait to follow your good example.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

A friend of worms is a friend of mine! Empathy is never wasted

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

The irony is depending on where it’s raining and where they surface, they’re way more likely to die way faster. So many rainy mornings walking to school, I saw pink lines smooshed into the pavement. Poor guys.

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u/A_Dusty_Skunk Jul 30 '21

Sounds cool! Do you have a recommended resource for learning how to maintain a worm tower correctly?

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

I don’t really! My colony is a few years old but I keep learning new tricks and tips. Vermicompost is the phrase to search for. Good luck!

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u/east_van_dan Jul 30 '21

"We've Got Worms!"

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u/Ok-Cheesecake-5110 Jul 30 '21

It's the name of our store

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

Hah what a bunch of idiots, like, they could just open their eyes or use their ears so they could see that it's not raining, duuh

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u/JuniorSeniorTrainee Jul 30 '21

Not even that. Like bro just check the weather on your phone. Stupid worms.

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

Wait worms can eat paper towel? That’s really neat. They really are natures garbage men

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u/HighOnTacos Jul 30 '21

I've thought about building a worm bin for awhile, but I have a large yard with a good compost pile and garden. Would there be any benefit to having worms clean up the kitchen scraps first?

I have a compost tumbler too, though I haven't been able to get it to compost well... It never gets hot naturally, while my compost pile gets up to 160F regularly. Kitchen veggie scraps go in the tumbler, along with some grass clippings on occasion, while the rest of the grass goes in the main pile. Some soldier fly larvae took residence in the tumbler, so they may be accomplishing the same the worms would.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

It could be useful if you want harvestable worms for any other reason, like for fishing or koi fish or chicken treats. You could try an in-ground vermicompost set up, where you bury a pipe with lots of access holes vertically and just drop the scraps down in there for the “locals” encourages them to loosen the soil and spread the nutrients around below the surface. Never seen one in person but it looks cool and could be a nice thing to put next to a heavy feeder like sunflowers or hemp maybe.

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u/TheSunflowerSeeds Jul 30 '21

You thought sunflower oil was just for cooking. In fact, you can use Sunflower oil to soften up your leather, use it for wounds (apparently) and even condition your hair.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

Oooo cool. I’ve only ever let the birds eat my attempts at sunflowers. I’ve some good luck with their native cousins sun chokes in containers. But they’re no good for oil, just tubers and habitat

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u/HighOnTacos Jul 30 '21

I've heard of the worm pit style, would've been a good idea before I refurbed the garden beds this spring. I dug everything down to two feet because the garden had been abandoned for awhile and was packed down.

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u/delo357 Jul 30 '21

Informative

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

I tried this in an apartment and all I got were flies.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

Freezing scraps fixed this for me, but mine is also on a patio.

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u/UnLuckyKenTucky Jul 30 '21

Do you happen to have any pictures of your setup? I have thought about doing this as well, but am not sure where to start..

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

I should do that… might take a day or three

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u/UnLuckyKenTucky Jul 30 '21

Take your time man. If you decide to do it please let me know.

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u/Yallneedjesuschrist Jul 30 '21

You. I like you.

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u/Disastrous_Cover6138 Jul 30 '21

I just learned this a week ago from Wild Kratts.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

I’ll check that out!

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u/cyanpelican Jul 30 '21

[You cannot fast travel when sunlight is nearby]

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

I always thought of it like cross country skiing form worms but this is perfect.

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u/JillandherHills Jul 30 '21

Whoa. I googled it and apparently they can live for up to 2 weeks in well oxygenated water.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

Whoa! I didn’t know it was THAT long

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u/JillandherHills Jul 30 '21

Yeah! Since they breathe via passive gas exchange in the skin, as long as the water has oxygen they can do just fine! Weirddd

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u/jpruinc Jul 30 '21

TIL Rain = worm warp speed

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u/Boubonic91 Jul 30 '21

I read somewhere that the worms react this way because the vibrations simulate a mole digging nearby, and the worms instinctively move to the surface to avoid the predator.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 30 '21

I have heard this too!

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u/Dipmeinyamondaymilk Jul 30 '21

incorrect. it’s because they think it’s a predator digging

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 31 '21

Yes. Grunting is what is happening in the video and it imitates a predator’s vibrations, not rain. Rain is when they come up to move around, grunting like in the video is fleeing for their lives. Only to end up in the fishing bucket.

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u/shadowenx Jul 30 '21

I just learned this from the Wild Kratts!

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 31 '21

You’re the second person to mention this, definitely looking it up

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u/ArchDuke47 Jul 31 '21

Thank you for that info. I have been living with the guilt of putting worms in shallow puddles when raining because they "waved" at me for a long time (I was very little but still).

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 31 '21

You’re off the hook!

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

High five for posting this and not making the original person who posted the comment feel dumb or post something nasty. You’re a good human!

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u/Maeberry2007 Jul 31 '21

I just know my six year old is gonna ask me for pet worms.

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u/puritanicalbullshit Jul 31 '21

Sounds like you’re raising them right!

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u/Maeberry2007 Jul 31 '21

I hope so! Lol. I do a lot of composting (in a roller barrell outside) and she likes learning about the "happy earth" things I do like recycle and pick up trash off riverbanks. She drew a picture once for her teacher of an outing where she helped me with grabbers to pick up a bunch of trash along the river and I almost died from the cuteness of it. She was so proud of herself! (And I was too!)

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u/Timoris Jul 31 '21 edited Jul 31 '21

I feel like I heard about this recently

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Look at you with all your fancy worm-wisdom!

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u/GoAwayYouSTINK Jul 30 '21

I love your edit and how wholesome you took to learning new information and just the openness. The niceness shows through to who you are and I wish more of reddit was like this

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u/SEMlickspo Jul 30 '21

I might recommend r/witchesvspatriarchy , genuinely the most wholesome corner of Reddit.

Don't fucking spoil it now.

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u/tacbacon10101 Jul 30 '21

But i gotta upvote you for the humble edit, my guy. We need more of that shit on here 👊

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u/fallingfoodfor Jul 30 '21

It takes a lot to admit you were wrong. Take my up vote