Fly Swatting 101

I'm sure you've seen President Obama's impressive fly swatting incident during a CNBC interview.

But why is it so hard to swat a fly?

Believe it or not, scientists have done studies on this question. Apparently, to avoid being swatted, flies place their weight on their middle legs while seated and, sensing an attack shuffle their feat and position themselves to fly off in the opposite direction ... within 200 milliseconds. Flies also possess cilia - special hairs designed to detect even the slightest changes in air pressure.

Aside from the quickness with which the fly reacts, the reaction itself is baffling as a fly, despite its minuscule brain, can process an oncoming attack with astounding speed.

So what can you do to make sure you outsmart a fly? Do what President Obama did - anticipate which way it will fly off and come in from that angle.