Doc:I live in an apartment with some other guys, and because it's summer they like to leave the front door open to cool the place down. There's also a window open in the upstairs bathroom. We don't have screens, though, and I noticed we started getting some flies in the house. We were all gone this past weekend and when we came back there were dozens of flies. I tried explaining to my roommates that part of the reason we had a lot of flies was because of the open door and window, but they've told me that's impossible. (They've also said that bugs are not attracted to light, and that opening another window will cause them all to fly away.) If these flies did not come in through the door and the window, how did they appear?
-- Dan Bird, Pennsylvania
Dear Dan:
I have two words for you: spontaneous generation. Or if you prefer one word, abiogenesis. This was first hypothesized by Aristotle and has only been reaffirmed throughout the years. Spontaneous generation occurs when inanimate substances, like rotting meat, magically transforms into bugs. What probably happened was before you left, someone left some meat out, and when you came back it turned into the swarm of flies. My recommendation is that you leave a block of cheese out: this will turn into frogs, which will then eat your flies.
-- Dr. N
2 comments:
While the science behind this answer is sound, there are other explainations. The first is that there are a number of male persons living in the apartment and that since flies are attracted to the "Y" chromosone you should expect to have a large number of the pesty insects in the summertime. Second because screens were invented for a purpose besides their asthetics, you might consider that if others find them essential to keep unwanted, and unsanitary critters out, that without them flies might just wander inside. There is such a phenomena as cluster flies which lay their eggs on window sills to hatch and annoy you when it first warms up, often a sunny winter day; however, the summer variety breeds in garbage pails and has no manners. It will come in uninvited if a door or window is left open (even if there is just a tear in the screen.) I know a family who has done extensive anecdotal research on this. They have found that if their farmhouse is fly-free and the kitchen door is left open by the end of the day the house is full of flies. However, if a self closing screen door is installed the place can remain insect-free.
I think this post is a good example of what it means to be "passive aggresive."
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