Why do bats supposedly fly out of hell very quickly?

[raccoon]

Since they are associated with dark, night, vampires, and other scary things, looks like they would like it in hell.

[siligut]

1. When they fly out at dusk, it is rather beautiful

I am going to look for a picture. But I don't know where the expression came from, maybe I'll look for that too. I don't think anyone likes it in hell, that is the purpose of hell, someplace you do not want to go.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Congress Bridge, Austin TX -video and pics

http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp




World's Largest Urban Bat Colony
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10852

Bats Departing from Congress Bridge in Austin, Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7RKPhPxAE

[siligut]

6. Wow, that's a lot of bats

The video is impressive, and you can sometimes see the spiral pattern. Thanks :hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

2. One theory....

Moving extremely fast, as in She ran down the street like a bat out of hell. This expression presumably alludes to the rapid darting movement of bats and, Charles Earle Funk theorized, their avoidance of such light as might be cast by the fires of hell.

[EnviroBat]

7. I always felt that the guy operating that motorcycle...

Was doing so at a completely unsafe speed. And what with no helmet, or SHIRT for that matter...

[BrklynLiberal]

11. LOL....

[siligut]

4. The ones I saw were at Carlsbad Caverns, and they flew out in a spiral

I can't find a pic of that,but this one is pretty.

What I found out about the expression, it seems to have originated in the north, far north: Like a bat out of hell

Slang very quickly
(C14 bakke, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse ledhrblaka leather-flapper, Swedish dialect natt-batta night bat)

Here is the link, but it seems wonky, so click at your own risk: http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/like%20a%20bat%20out%20of%20hell

[stuntcat]

5. bats are angels :)

cute furry little angels they are :loveya:


I hope they make it.

[Demoiselle]

8. But wouldn't bats find hell uncomfortably bright? Hellfires and all?

[MiddleFingerMom]

9. This probably isn't going to be much help (but that's my specialty):

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[dawg]

10. Nobody likes being in Hell - not even the devil.

AC/DC and the movie "Little Nicky" notwithstanding. :bounce:

[sarge43]

12. Out sourcing? n/t

[jobycom]

13. Because they can. Otherwise they'd fly out slowly. nt

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Snooki and crew took over the whole place.

[petronius]

15. It's a common misunderstanding - the bats in question aren't animals,

they're baseball implements. Because hell is hot, the batters lose their grips easily. Ergo, every time there's a ball game in hell, there are loose baseball bats flying every which way...

[rrneck]

16. because it's hot as hell nt

[rrneck]

17. because it's hot as hell nt

[Richard Steele]

18. Because the flying things in hell eat bats the way bats eat insects.

They are human sized, and need to eat 3 times their body weight
in raw bats every evening, just to keep flying.

They are beyond the point of answering to individual NAMES,
but we once knew them collectively as 'the Luftewaffe'.