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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

News You Can Mews

I wonder if this brain parasite transmitted from cats could literally be the liberal disease:

The parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, has been transmitted indirectly from cats to roughly half the people on the planet, and it has been shown to affect human personalities in different ways.

Research has shown that women who are infected with the parasite tend to be warm, outgoing and attentive to others, while infected men tend to be less intelligent and probably a bit boring. But both men and women who are infected are more prone to feeling guilty and insecure. [...]

Can a common cat parasite account for part -- even if only a very small part -- of the cultural differences seen around the world? [...]

Toxoplasma, he notes, is "frighteningly amazing."

It can change the personality of a rat so much that the rat surrenders itself to a cat, just as the parasite wanted.

The parasite's eggs are shed in a cat's feces. A rat comes along, eats the feces, and becomes infected. The behavior of the rat undergoes a dramatic change, making the rat more adventuresome and more likely to hang out around cats.

The cat eats the rat, and the parasite completes its life cycle.

So the next time you think it's a good idea to appease murderous islamo-fascists or turn over complete control of our lives to the government, perhaps you should see if you're infected by this parasite.

Hat Tip: Tim Blair

That Was Lucky

Was it a miracle when the fronds of a palm tree broke his fall?

Authorities and witnesses say that a palm tree likely saved the life of Joey Williams, a 4-year-old boy who fell Friday morning from a 17th-floor balcony after chasing a balloon through his apartment home at the Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay.

The boy opened a sliding glass door, climbed over a covered balcony railing, bounced off the crown of the palm tree and safely landed on the ``dirt surface'' of an area surrounding the hotel's 10th-floor pool, said Kenia Reyes, a Miami police spokeswoman.

``It's a miracle -- he doesn't appear to have broken a bone,...''

Maybe. In which case, as James Taranto points out, it's good to have fronds in high places.

I just love it when real news sets up for full groan humor!