Head lice are disgusting parasites that we have never been able to eradicate. We all remember the head lice checks in elementary school. They’ve been following us around for centuries. Now, mummified head lice are helping us to understand ancient migrations.
Researches were able to extract DNA from lice found on two pre-Columbian Peruvian mummies (about 1,000 years old). The DNA allowed researchers to establish that the lice have been riding along on human hosts for as early as 15,000 years ago. The DNA matches that of the most common type of louse and is believed to have traveled all the way from Africa.
This lets Columbus of the hook. Typhus, carried by head lice, is one of the many diseases previously thought to have been introduced by the Europeans. Though we can still thank Columbus for the measles.
yuckidy yuck yuck!
The children of one of my house cleaning clients had lice last month, and yes, they still wanted me to clean (didn’t inform me of the lice till I had already driven the 20 minutes to get to their house). Even tho’ I didn’t get lice from them (very small chance if you don’t come in close enough contact to their head or bedclothes), my head itched for the rest of the day, just out of paranoia. But I learned that “nits” are lice eggs, and from thence comes the term, “nit-picking.”
So at least I learned something new. Also, the daughter learned not to share hats at Girl Scouts. :p
http://www.licesolutions.org