From: The Low Golden Willow (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Date: Fri May 23 1997 - 20:21:45 MDT
On May 23, 6:49pm, Kennita Watson wrote:
} migrating about on extracted eyelashes. As many as 25 mites have
} been seen clinging near the root end of a single eyelash, "packed
} together like sardines" (Coston, 1967). The infested eyelashes may
} be soggy or waterlogged, and sometimes can be pulled out with
} virtually no resistance (English,1971).
The original claim was "I heard from someone that little bugs keep our
eyelashes in. And when our eyelashes fall out its because the bugs die."
The NOVA reference Mr. Quinn provided did not mention this phenomenon;
the above text seems to contradict it.
Mr. Quinn's statement that "Its true. The human body is more than just
human cells---it a symbiosis with several other species in benign
interactions like these." is not entirely to the point. That lots of
beasties live on us is not only true, it is rather old news as far as I
am concerned. That mites keep our eyelashes in has had no evidence
presented in its favor, and was the idea which caused much
righteous furor.
Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix
"Babies are rational. So are cats. If you insist on reading the
newspaper when you should be petting your cat, the cat solves the
problem by lying down on the paper. I don't know if that tactic is the
product of calculation of trial and error -- but it works."
-- DDFR, _Hidden Order_
"If ants had nuclear weapons, they would probably end the Earth in a
week." -- E.O. Wilson, _Journey to the Ants_
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