this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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Mildly Interesting

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This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.

This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That is actually why they are called earwigs, its an old english word that’s describing the shape of their wings which kind of looks like a human ear.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (3 children)

So you’re telling me it’s NOT because they like to crawl into your ears while you’re asleep?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

This is blowing my mind right now... Those things gave me nightmares as a kid thinking they crawl into people's ears...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

If you want to lose the solace that fact has provided you, here's another possibly also false but no less comforting bit of trivia:

spoilerLeeches after feeding would love nothing more than a dark, somewhat moist, somewhat warm, somewhat tight environment. Which a human has and is probably something you don't want a leech to get anywhere near, be glad there's no such thing as a Analwig. Oh and land leeches exist.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

No that’s just an old wives tale.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

In Norwegian they are called Klypedyr. Literal translation is pinching-animal (although we call it an insect). I always though that was scary as a kid, but I see now my trauma is tiny compared to ear-infesting-wig-wearing thingy. I still don’t like them, but I tolerate them