1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (105 page)

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

“The Scorpion Files, Centru-roides exilicauda,” Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
www.ub.ntnu.no
.

790

FACT :
There are an estimated
40,000 scorpion stings
every year in Morocco.
Hopefully not all on the same guy.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

791

FACT :
The seemingly harmless ladybug has been known
to inflict unprovoked bites
and release a defensive secretion that causes a stinging sensation on human skin.
Not very ladylike, if you ask me.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

792

FACT :
Many parasitic worms use beetles as intermediate hosts to get to humans. One case from the Mississippi Department of Health reported
an eight-centimeter worm
found in a baby’s diaper; the infant had presumably ingested an infected beetle via contaminated flour or bread products.
If you’ve ever changed a poopy diaper, there’s really nothing you could find in there that would surprise you—a worm, a frog, Jimmy Hoffa, whatever.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

793

FACT :
When threatened, blister beetles secrete
a chemical that will produce a sore within a few hours
of penetrating the skin. This chemical agent is poisonous to some animal species, and, when ingested, can lead to abdominal pain, kidney damage, and even death.
The blister beetle will also secrete some chemicals when stamped into smithereens by my foot, which is what will happen to any beetle that gives me a blister.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

794

FACT :
Marketed as a sexual stimulant for thousands of years,
the Spanish fly is a European blister beetle
that has been dried, crushed, and consumed, but doing so can cause painful urination, fever, and permanent damage to the kidneys and genitals.
Proving once again that being a sucker has always been painful.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

John L. Capinera, Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd ed.

795

FACT :
It would take
500–800 honey bee stings
to kill a human based on the toxic effects of the venom alone, but to someone with a bee allergy, one sting can cause a deadly anaphylactic reaction.
If you get stung 500–800 times by bees, you need better sneakers.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).

796

FACT :
Long-term lice infection of humans can result in what’s known as secondary sensitization, or
a feeling of apathy, pessimism, or irritability
, hence the term, “feeling lousy.”
Long-term lice infection of a human can also result in what’s known as never having a date, ever. This also creates a feeling of apathy, irritability, pessimism, and chronic virginity.

Jerome Goddard, Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 5th ed. (CRC Press, 2007).