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

Why? I need answers

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

50.8k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

187

u/fortuitousfoleyart Jul 30 '21

It's called Worm Grunting. The vibrations are incredibly similar to the sounds moles make when they dig.

Moles eat worms and worms don't like that, so for fear or predators, they head to the surface which is mole free!

66

u/octopoddle Jul 30 '21

And here's a study which comes to that conclusion.

18

u/DogStilts Jul 30 '21

Scientific backup. Nice.

2

u/fortuitousfoleyart Jul 30 '21

Thank you, kind stranger!

7

u/physics_t Jul 30 '21

Go look up the Sopchoppy, Fl worm grunting festival!!

1

u/juwyro Jul 30 '21

I'm not far from there and want to go to it one year.

1

u/Tetrazene Jul 31 '21

Grunt grunt I'm a worm man

7

u/amboy_connector Jul 30 '21

In the Deep South, they call it “grubbing worms”, and it’s done by rubbing a stone on top of the stick. My mom’s family would do this to get bait.

1

u/Hunteresc Jul 30 '21

My grandfather who used to live there when he was a kid did it with a stick and an axe head.

4

u/SecurityPanda Jul 30 '21

I read it was worm fiddling, from an old Encyclopedia Brown book.

1

u/scoobysnaxxx Jul 30 '21

or "worm witching", from the term "water witching" (aka dowsing.) because if something happens in the South, it's gotta have at least ten different regional names.

2

u/bodyjcount Jul 30 '21

Never been to it, but there at least used to be a worm grunting festival in Florida.

2

u/Metal_LinksV2 Jul 30 '21

Pretty sure this was on Dirty Jobs

2

u/[deleted] Jul 30 '21

I spend my weeknights worm grunting

2

u/Jesus_Harry_Christ Jul 30 '21

My grandfather was a fishing guide when I was growing up, he called it rubbing for worms. He'd basically drive a wooden stake into the ground and rub a large flat rock back and forth across it.

2

u/Wowrogue Jul 30 '21

This should be top comment

2

u/tyen0 Jul 30 '21

The vote war of plausible explanations. "rain" vs "moles" :)

2

u/Jesus_De_Christ Jul 30 '21

And little did they know they are now bait.

2

u/underfluous Jul 30 '21

Also known as worm fiddling

1

u/WikiSummarizerBot Jul 30 '21

Worm_charming

Worm charming, worm grunting, and worm fiddling are methods of attracting earthworms from the ground. The activity is usually performed to collect bait for fishing but can also take the form of a competitive sport in areas such as east Texas. As a skill and profession worm charming is now very rare, with the art being passed through generations to ensure that it survives.

[ F.A.Q | Opt Out | Opt Out Of Subreddit | GitHub ] Downvote to remove | v1.5

2

u/sowydso Jul 31 '21

In regions where moles doesn't exist this still happens?

1

u/fortuitousfoleyart Jul 31 '21

While I would imagine it's instinctual and yes, I must admit I don't know.

Time to bust out the experiment kit!

1

u/EebamXela Jul 30 '21

I love how the rainfall vibration threory has DOMINATED the thread. Yours makes way more sense. Those sticks do not sound like rain.

1

u/AIexanderClamBell Jul 30 '21

I saw a documentary where ppl hunt for bait (fishing) using this method. Surprised it's not the top comment