People who have spent time on a farm know that gunny sacks are usually the bags in which field corn, or other agricultural products, are packaged.

Gunny is an Anglicized form of the Hindi and Sanskrit word goni, which simply means "sack" or "bag." Both the coarse, heavy sacking material and the bags themselves were once made on a large scale in Bengal. The material itself came to be called "gunny" and the bags became "gunny sacks."

Other Uses of a Gunny Sack
In the small country town I grew up in, we often had three-legged races during festive gatherings. Here's how it works: First, you and your partner stand next to each other and each put the leg closer to the other person in one gunny sack. Then, you work as a team to race other teams over a set distance. The distance is usually about 100 to 200 feet. The first three-legged team to reach the finish line is the winner!