Head Rush

 

No. 10 - Your books and papers

 

Ever heard of book lice?

They live in paper, but they're not particular: they'll take flour, grain or cardboard if that's all you got.

Also known as psocids, the small, colorless insects feed on the mold and mildew that grow on books.

Relax, they don't bite humans… but they are really disgusting and can reach infestation proportions pretty quickly. How quickly? Well, parthenogenesis isn't unheard of in psocids, meaning the females can lay eggs without ever having mated.

It's kind of a favorable trait, if you're looking to build your population.







Top Gross Things in Your House    10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1    Next »

More Science Top 10s

piltdown Top 10 Science Hoaxes
You might know about Piltdown Man, but what about the deadly cake?
mad scientist Top 10 Mad Scientists
The original Dr. Evil.
sea creatures Top 10 Weirdest Sea Creatures
Want to meet a blobfish?
deadliest, diseases Top 10 Deadly Diseases
What are the most common, but deadliest, diseases?
organs Top 10 Useless Body Parts
Anyone who's had a wisdom tooth pulled will know what we mean.
accidental inventions Top 10 Accidental Inventions
When whoops! really works out for the best.
 
 
advertisement

Shop Discovery

 
newsletter
 
 

our sites

video

shop

stay connected

corporate