Recent discussions in Chemistry in Australia (November 2013 issue, p. 4; February 2014 issue, p. 6) on the use of acetylene generated from calcium carbide prompt further comment. Banana farmers, certainly in northern New South Wales but probably also elsewhere, used 'acetylene' to discourage flying foxes from attacking their fruit. In the evening, they placed a handful of carbide, sometimes wrapped in muslin, in old tins at the corners of their plantation. The dew acted on the carbide to generate acetylene, which was then considered to keep flying foxes away.
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