Cooties: Turns Out the Kids Were Right

So the New York Times reports today on the evolution of the human louse. You know, the friendly bloodsucker that comes in three types: the head louse, the body louse, and the pubic louse. These pray respectively on unwashed children, unwashed clothes and just about everyone you might meet on Match.com.

From the NYT:

The human louse finds people so delicious that it will accept no substitutes and cannot live more than a few hours away from the warmth and sustenance of the human body. This devotion to the human cause means that the evolutionary history of human lice dovetails with that of their hosts and reflects several pivotal events that affected both species.

It turns out that pubic lice are most closely related to the lice that live on gorillas. So, ummm...yeah, I guess kindergartners do have it all figured out. You don't wanna be anywhere near someone with cooties. Not just because you might catch them - but because of how they may have gotten them.

What a Story Lice Can Tell. From NYT.com, Registration Required