Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: geeky
  • Music: Aqua, "Cartoon Heroes."

I live in a wonderful world full of parasites.

The other day, I was in Safeway—buying Diet Dr Pepper, naturally—when I heard the guy up ahead of me say something to his friends that I was positive I must have misheard. Specifically, what I heard him say was "and there's this really awesome parasitic wasp that drives its victims like cars." Now, I like parasitic wasps. I am, one might say, unduly fascinated by parasitic wasps. So I tend to assume that when I hear other people bring them up in conversation, I'm hearing them wrong.

I began shamelessly eavesdropping...and wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, he was talking about insect parasitism! Yay! As the conversation swung toward blood flukes, I interjected to note that blood flukes were probably largely responsible for the evolution of gendered reproduction. He looked, in a word, delighted.

What followed was the largest, rowdiest, happiest discussion of parasite behavior I have ever been involved with outside of a group of my friends. All five of the people involved had read Parasite Rex, and parthenogentic reproduction came up, gleefully.

I think I may have met my male equivalent from a nearby parallel dimension.

I'm just saying.
Tags: geekiness, in the wild, pandemic time, silliness, so the marilyn
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spectralbovine

June 30 2010, 16:29:09 UTC 7 years ago

Aaaaah icon.

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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ericcoleman

June 30 2010, 16:22:57 UTC 7 years ago

What followed was the largest, rowdiest, happiest discussion of parasite behavior I have ever been involved with outside of a group of my friends.

That may be the best sentence of the week

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:11:15 UTC 7 years ago

Yay!

spectralbovine

June 30 2010, 16:28:31 UTC 7 years ago

Awesome!!

Now please stay away from each other, as I can only IMAGINE the trouble you two would get into.

dornbeast

June 30 2010, 16:50:25 UTC 7 years ago

Well, there's also the possibility that they could be the Only Ones Who Can Save The World. Do you want to take the risk that we won't need parasite-controlled velociraptors someday?

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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fayanora

7 years ago

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elorie

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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purrplexitty

June 30 2010, 16:28:37 UTC 7 years ago

The world may never be the same again.

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:13:13 UTC 7 years ago

IGNITE THE BIOSPHERE!

theashgirl

June 30 2010, 16:35:47 UTC 7 years ago

Man, I wish I got into these kinds of conversations at Safeway. Everyone at my grocery store is either creepy (and not fun creepy) or boring.

One of these days I would love to see a recommended nonfiction reading list from you. I can only imagine all of the interesting and icky things I would learn! (And it is my goal in life to read more awesome nonfiction.)

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:13:47 UTC 7 years ago

My Safeway likes me. Thankfully.

A non-fiction reading list is a really, really good idea.

VERY glad to hear this,...

ladyfox7oaks

June 30 2010, 16:37:43 UTC 7 years ago

But did you get his name and PHONE NUMBER???! :D

Re: VERY glad to hear this,...

asphaltangel

June 30 2010, 16:52:37 UTC 7 years ago

That's what I wanna know, too.

Re: VERY glad to hear this,...

drakemonger

7 years ago

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Re: VERY glad to hear this,...

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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Re: VERY glad to hear this,...

ladyfox7oaks

7 years ago

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keristor

June 30 2010, 16:42:16 UTC 7 years ago

You were having this conversation in Safeway? In a supermarket, with s'market droids and customers, and you didn't get thrown out? Awesome!

(I've never overheard any interesting conversations in a supermarket, not without friends there and we are the ones discussing odd stuff.)

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:15:59 UTC 7 years ago

My Safeway is very, very used to me.

Thankfully.

bearhand

June 30 2010, 16:54:12 UTC 7 years ago

If it's the same type of parasitic wasp that I've read about, it will insert a larva on the spider, where it will grow and feed (WHILE THE SPIDER IS STILL ALIVE). The spider will go about it's normal fly catching business until one day the wasp larva will send MIND DIRECTIONS directly to the spiders brain. The spider will then find two plant limbs where it will spin a super thick cable, crawl out to the middle of the cable, and hang there where the larva will finish eating it.

It is one of the first true cases I had learned about where an animal took over the mind and body of another animal and then ate it.

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:16:17 UTC 7 years ago

Is that not MAD AWESOME?!

fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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la_marquise_de_

June 30 2010, 16:55:37 UTC 7 years ago

AH, but did you get his number? Because it sounds like he make have books you might like to borrow.

bigherman

June 30 2010, 17:21:59 UTC 7 years ago

Seconded.

tsgeisel

7 years ago

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angel_vixen

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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ladymondegreen

June 30 2010, 17:02:57 UTC 7 years ago

Sometimes the universe rewards strange behavior in the best ways. :)

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 04:34:00 UTC 7 years ago

I live in a surrealism nexus.

dornbeast

7 years ago

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sheistheweather

June 30 2010, 17:05:53 UTC 7 years ago

That is AWESOME.

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:06:54 UTC 7 years ago

I know, right?

fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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xjenavivex

June 30 2010, 17:16:30 UTC 7 years ago

your science is sexy!

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:07:02 UTC 7 years ago

Agreed.

arielstarshadow

June 30 2010, 17:28:03 UTC 7 years ago

O.O

I'm lucky the people in my Safeway talk at all...

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:07:11 UTC 7 years ago

Heh.

martianmooncrab

June 30 2010, 17:28:38 UTC 7 years ago

They are building a Safeway here in town, but it wont be finished until next year.. drat...

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:07:26 UTC 7 years ago

They don't all come with science geeks, sadly.

aliciaaudrey

June 30 2010, 17:32:23 UTC 7 years ago

Dude, I envy you. The the only kinds of conversations I ever get into at the grocery store are debates at the local Whole Foods where I end up trying not to throttle hyperactive yuppy moms who are convinced vaccines cause autism and lecture me on being selfish for not replicating yet.

"You don't understand because you're not a mommy! And you're not a mommy because you're SELFISH!!!!"

It's enough to make me want to attempt to drown myself or them in organic fruit juice.

Although I did recently learn something very nifty about parasites from my friend Amber (an evolutionary biologist) who sent me a totally neat article about parasites that need cats to reproduce (it doesn't harm the cat) but grow in mice (...it does harm the mouse). Since mice are afraid of cats, the parasite screws with the mouse's brain and makes it absolutely LOVE the scent of cats, which causes the mouse to be caught and eaten by a cat, which allows the parasite to reproduce in the cat's digestive tract or somesuch. Apparently there is a line of thought that this parasite might be responsible for crazy cat ladies and cat hording. Most parasite things freak me out but I thought that was pretty interesting.

aineotter

June 30 2010, 18:31:02 UTC 7 years ago

That's toxoplasmosis, and it sometimes does harm cats, just more often the other animals that catch it. It's the one that's bad news for pregnant women (and why you should never house marsupials near cats). It at least makes mice less cautious, and reduces their desire to seek cover; I hadn't heard about active cat-seeking, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Don't get me started about vaccines. You know the guy responsible for the original autism-vaccine connection research grossly violated laws regarding use of human subjects, and lost his medical license, right?

valdary

7 years ago

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aliciaaudrey

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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bearhand

7 years ago

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keristor

7 years ago

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More Expand

aeriedraconia

June 30 2010, 17:38:14 UTC 7 years ago

Ha! So, did you get their numbers? :-)

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:12:40 UTC 7 years ago

Alas, no.

joecoustic

June 30 2010, 17:39:18 UTC 7 years ago

As someone who loves public discussions, reading this made me smile :).

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:12:48 UTC 7 years ago

Yay!

stakebait

June 30 2010, 17:50:35 UTC 7 years ago

Have you considered reproducing with this person? I realize it's a bit incestuous but your child could RULE the insect kingdom.

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:13:04 UTC 7 years ago

Yes, but sweetie, would you trust me with a baby?

elorie

7 years ago

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stakebait

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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stakebait

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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aineotter

June 30 2010, 18:32:37 UTC 7 years ago

Wait, blood flukes are responsible for sexual reproduction?

I want to know!

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:13:17 UTC 7 years ago

Gendered, not sexual. It's a whole thing.

fayanora

7 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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parasites

jutley

June 30 2010, 19:07:20 UTC 7 years ago

Where were all the enthusiastic students like you and your new friend when I was teaching biology??

You did get is number--didn't you???

Re: parasites

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:13:45 UTC 7 years ago

I didn't, and I was studying biology enthusiastically under baffled teachers who wished I didn't giggle about it quite so much.

saffronrose

June 30 2010, 19:09:51 UTC 7 years ago

Is the wasp that fertilizes figs parasitic, or does the fact that they get stuck inside the developing fig make the fig a cannibalistic plant?

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:13:54 UTC 7 years ago

Both!

saffronrose

7 years ago

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markbernstein

June 30 2010, 19:10:29 UTC 7 years ago

I think I may have met my male equivalent from a nearby parallel dimension.

Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:14:09 UTC 7 years ago

That's tomorrow. Budget delays.

muddlewait

June 30 2010, 19:15:30 UTC 7 years ago

"As the conversation swung toward blood flukes, I interjected to note that blood flukes were probably largely responsible for the evolution of gendered reproduction."

Whether intended as such or not, this statement represents the highest possible value of the population of conversational pickup attempts Y, where Y = Effective * Bizarre.

There should be an "I drive my victims like cars" T-shirt.

dimloep_suum

July 1 2010, 03:38:39 UTC 7 years ago

I'd buy and wear the hell out of that shirt.

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

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saffronrose

June 30 2010, 20:19:06 UTC 7 years ago

I didn't know that about blood flukes.
Glad you may have made new friends, esp. a male one.

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:28:24 UTC 7 years ago

It was fun!

soberloki

June 30 2010, 20:52:47 UTC 7 years ago

That is some thoroughly delightful r5andomness. Yay for the multiverse!

seanan_mcguire

July 1 2010, 05:28:33 UTC 7 years ago

It rules, it's true.
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