# Reasons why Australia is infested with flies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165 "2016-03-25T20:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165/41 "2016-04-03T23:29:39Z")
> [@40below](#): > > Serious question: is that why the stereotype of an outback Australian is always someone wearing a hat with corks dangling from strings? Is that what that’s for? To swat away flies? 🙂 Um yes. lol. {other internet expression of amusement). I’ve seen the chocolate crackles thread, and the discussion of snags and pavlova, and I know how ignorant Australians used to be about America, but hey 🙂 you didn’t know about the corks? It wouldn’t have occoured to me in a million years to explain that 🙂 (PS, actual real outback Australians don’t wear the corks because they don’t work very well) ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165/42 "2016-04-04T00:39:34Z")
> [@40below](#): > > Serious question: is that why the stereotype of an outback Australian is always someone wearing a hat with corks dangling from strings? Is that what that’s for? To swat away flies? Theoretically yes. The motion of walking, etc would set the corks in motion providing a constant shooing action, which supposedly would keep the flies of your face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165.md?page=2)