Some weeks ago, I posed the following question to my readers: Why do Spaniards place water bottles before the front doors of their homes?
Reader response—with explanations ranging from nocturnal water fairies to picnicing construction workers to canine potty-training—was both earnest and overwhelming! And, I should hasten to add, largely unhelpful.
Reader response—with explanations ranging from nocturnal water fairies to picnicing construction workers to canine potty-training—was both earnest and overwhelming! And, I should hasten to add, largely unhelpful.
Now, the situation has taken a sinister turn. Just look at the photo above, which I snapped while walking home yesterday afternoon. Warning: It contains disturbing images that may not be suitable for children!
You’ll note that two water bottles have (apparently) fallen victim to a lynch mob. Liquefied!—if you’ll pardon the pun. One minute, they were propped in front of a door quietly doing their jobs (whatever the hell those jobs are)…the next minute, these polystyrene martyrs were cut down in the prime of life—no doubt many months before the expiration dates printed on their caps.
Although I’ve yet to speak with Spanish police, I can only assume that this is the act of some ruthless vigilante group.
Perhaps a pack of territorial garden trolls intent on sending a warning to other inanimate objects invading their turf.
Well if you believe one of the original theories on the water bottle post, then you must have some dogs with very long legs where you live!
If not the legs, then surely something else.
[Hee hee hee…]
Good to hear from you again, Tim.
Cheers!
Sal
Okay, I dare you – in fact I double dog dare you to knock on these people’s door and ask them for an explanation! 🙂
I’d rather lick an iron pole in the dead of winter.
Wouldn’t that be against the human rights of the Pole concerned?
But Tim…
I’d first buy the pole dinner.
Oh brother! 🙂
Are you afraid that people who do things with water bottles are involved in satanic rituals? Maybe you do know what the bottles are for – you’re just not telling!
Is that it? Huh??
~ B
I’m beginning to believe that I’ll NEVER know what the bottles are used for.
Ultimately, I may need to knock on somebody’ door. But I’m afraid their answer will be, “Uhhh…we dunno why we hung them from the clothes line or put them in front of the door.”
Thus raising another question that I’ve never been able to answer: “Am I nuts? Or is everyone else?”
Ok, after having read the water bottle saga and the hanging water bottle saga (and guffawing frequently) I decided to put you all out of your misery.
Where I’m from we don’t leave water bottles on the doorstep but we do use them to put water inside with a lot of sugar, pierce it somewhere, and then hang it like exhibit 2 showed (photo on sal’s blog). There’s a very simple explanation for that: it’s to attract songbirds and hummingbirds.
As to the bottle on doorstep: maybe they were on their way to go attach the bottles to tree and the phone rang…
Elementary, my dears.
Ciao!
Bel!
Whether you are correct or not, your theory as to the hanging bottles is the most logical. So I’ll assume that you ARE correct.
As for the bottles at the door, they’re obviously intended to attract songbirds with broken wings.
Obrigado!!!
And BTW…the Moveable Feast hasn’t moved in three weeks.
Sal
Hahahaaa, I think I've figured it out. My friend from Spain said that sometimes the people will hang bottled water to scare flies away since supposedly they're scared of their own reflection?? They will also sometimes hang transparent plastic bags to do the same.