{{Short description|Large bag made of rough fiber, often used for storage and transport}} {{Redirect|Potato sack|the alternate reality game|Potato Sack}}{{Mcn|date=July 2023}}
thumb|Sack made from hemp burlap alt= Behind him, thousands of bags are stacked in rows.|thumb|Stacks of coffee bags, Ethiopia thumb|right|Potato sacks transported by horses in Colorado, 1890s A '''gunny sack''', also known as a '''gunny shoe''', '''burlap sack''', '''hessian sack''' or '''tow sack''', is a large sack, traditionally made of burlap (hessian fabric) formed from jute, hemp, sisal, or other natural fibres, usually in the crude spun form of tow. Modern-day versions of these sacks are often made from synthetic fabrics, such as polypropylene.
The word ''gunny'', meaning coarse fabric, is of Indo-Aryan<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gunny-sack |title=gunnysack |website=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=September 18, 2018}}</ref> origin. Reusable gunny sacks, typically holding about {{convert|50|kg|0}}, were traditionally used, and continue to be to some extent, for transporting grain, potatoes and other agricultural products. In Australia, these sacks, made of Indian jute, were known traditionally as "hessian sacks", "hessian bags" or "sugar bags".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hassam|first=Andrew|date=2011|title=Indian Jute in Australian Museum Collections: Forgetting and Recollecting Transnational Networks|url=https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/phrj/article/view/2268|journal=Public History Review|publisher=UTSePress|volume= 18|pages=108–128|doi=10.5130/phrj.v18i0.2268|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Gunny sacks are sometimes used as sandbags for erosion control, especially in emergencies. Up until the latter part of the twentieth century, when they became less common, the sacks were one of the primary tools for fighting grass fires in rural areas, used while soaked with water when available. Gunny sacks are also popular in the traditional children's game of sack racing.
==Size== A gunny sack holds approximately {{convert|50|kg|lb|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} of potatoes, and measures {{convert|45|in|cm}} by {{convert|34|in|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imperialjute.com/difference-between-jute-bags-and-gunny-bags/#:~:text=A%20gunny%20sack%20is%20a,34%20inches%20by%2045%20inches. | title=Difference Between Jute Bags and Gunny Bags – Imperial Jute | date=5 January 2023 }}</ref> Although gunny sacks are no longer commonly used to carry them in Idaho, the common measurement unit of potatoes is still the "sack" among farmers there.<ref>South, David B. [http://www.monolithic.org/storages/new-developments/protect-your-potatoes "Protect Your Potatoes"]. Accessed 2015-06-10.</ref>
==See also== *Coffee bag *Flour sack *Jute *Jute trade *Natural fiber *Sustainable packaging
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Bags}} {{Packaging}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunny Sack}} Category:Bags Category:Food packaging Category:Jute