The controversy has been around almost as long as eel skin products. You've all heard it in one form or another : "Don't purchase eel skin. It demagnetizes your credit cards." I even heard one better than that. "Did you know that eel skin sets off the alarm at airport security." Wow that eel skin must have some pretty powerful properties. I wonder if it can open and close garage doors too!

What are these magical, mystical powers lingering in a piece of eel skin. Well, I'm sorry to tell you but there aren't any earthly or extraterrestrial powers embedded in your eel skin wallet or other eel skin product. I hate to call it an old wives tale for fear of giving old wives a bad name.

The tale has been told and retold by no less an authority than my cousin's boyfriend's ex mother in law's next door neighbor. One of the stories goes something like this: When the electric eel is harvested some of the electric properties cause the demagnetization. First of all, we seem to forget that the eel is no longer, let us say, with us. It's dead. That should be the first clue that your story is on a slippery slope. However, some still believe that the electric properties carry over to the afterlife. For that reason let's put a second nail the coffin of this argument: the eel used are NOT electric eels. Let's see, they're not electric eels so I guess they have no electric powers then. A third and what I would hope would be an unnecessary point regarding this electric eel argument is that the organ that transmits the electricity in the eel is not even located in the skin. Now, unless you believe that the electric eel somehow transfers electric powers from an internal organ to the skin of a non electric eel and that those powers survive into the afterlife of this second eel I think that discussion is over. If you don't agree I guess your best evidence is still your cousin's boyfriend's ex...whomever.

I've even heard several "authorities" ( see cousins, etc above) say that chemicals used in tanning cause this phenomenon. I guess if that were the case then any hide using this mysterious, unnamed chemical should have the same effect, wouldn't you think. Anyone ever heard of cowhide wallets demagnitizing cards, opening garage doors or any other sort of super power? I'm merely trying to use logic here and not relying on that so called expert "cousin" or whomever.

Disproving an old wive's tale is a tricky business because there aren't any facts to refute in the wives' tale and also many people really seem to love to pass on this wonderful mystery and do so with such "authority."

Perhaps, and only perhaps because no one is truly sure, the problem may have been caused by overly powerful magnetic clasps originally place on eel skin wallets. When eel skin was introduced in mass quantities in the mid 1980s several manufacturers decided to use magnetic clasps instead of the pressure snaps that had been used for years on other leathers. Some of these original clasps were extra powerful and could have caused a problem with the magnetic strips. Those original stronger clasps have long, long ago been replaced and the closures used for the past many years could not do any damage.

In case you need another nail in the coffin ( in other words the above logic didn't convince you ), a California lab in the 1980s actually tested and disproved this rumor.

Let's see, I used logic and then I told you about a scientific lab test but if that's still not enough evidence? Boy, you're tough to convince. Well, try www.snopes.com and type in "eelskin demagnitize" in the search bar. If that doesn't put you on the right track there's no convincing you. Enjoy your story telling. Maybe you can even top the tale about airport security going off under the influence of eelskin.

Purchase and use eel skin products with confidence.

See www.hideoutflorida.com