1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (106 page)

797

FACT :
The skin of people who continually harbor body lice
hardens and becomes darkly pigmented
, and is commonly known as vagabond’s syndrome.
I always thought vagabond’s syndrome was roaming the country with all your stuff tied up in a kerchief at the end of a stick and singing songs like “Jimmy Crack Corn.”

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

798

FACT :
The praying mantis is a formidable predator with a large head, numerous eyes, powerful front legs, and
quick reflexes that are difficult to notice with the naked eye
. Their prey includes flies, grasshoppers, moths, and other insects.
I once saw a praying mantis kill a mouse. You don’t forget something like that.

“Praying Mantis,” Animals, National Geographic,
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com
.

799

FACT :
The praying mantis will eat its own kind. The most famous example of this is the female’s notorious mating behavior where
she sometimes eats the male just after—or even during—mating
.
Whether it’s after or during depends largely on how good he is in the sack.

“Praying Mantis,” Animals, National Geographic,
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com
.

800

FACT :
Some caterpillars possess
poisonfilled spines
that break off and release venom-like substances into human skin upon contact.
Some caterpillars need to be introduced to Mrs. Praying Mantis.

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

“Praying Mantis,” Animals, National Geographic,
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com
.

“Stomach bots in horses,” Cooperative Extension System,
www.extension.org
.

“Killer Insects: 6 Natural Born Anthropod Assassins,” WebEcoist, September 21, 2008,
www.webecoist.com
.

Alex Levinton, “The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World,”
Cracked.com
,
www.cracked.com
.

CHAPTER 17
Foreign
Objects
Strange Facts
about Faraway
Places Where
People Talk Funny

801

FACT :
A mummified hand has been on display in city hall in Münster, Germany for 400 years. It belonged to a notary who falsely certified a document, and had
his hand chopped off as punishment
, then displayed as a warning.
You should see the warning to flashers.

Andrea Schulte-Peevers and others, Lonely Planet Germany, 5th ed. (Lonely Planet, 2007), 583.

802

FACT :
Flamingo tongue was
a common delicacy
at Roman feasts.
You can still find it today in vienna sausages and deviled ham.

Noel Botham, The Book of Useless Information (Perigee, 2006).