Thursday, May 31, 2007

I need a cootie shot


Remember as a kid getting your cootie shots? And cooties weren't just limited to boys (or girls) but everything they'd touch or wear and would be likely to carry those icky boy germs.

Apparently now there's a science behind cooties and what it is that makes us say, "Eeewwwwww."

Time magazine recently ran an article (click here to read) about the cootie science and how it affects us still today; in particular, in our shopping habits.

Apparently it's been passed on from early generations beginning with a natural dislike for tainted meats or rotting produce. Human kind wanted to avoid germs and bacteria before we knew what bacteria and germs were.

Makes sense. But did you know that hardwired fear of all things eww can affect your buying?
We all know that toilet paper is clean when we buy it. It comes in a neat little plastic wrap. But the minute you have it touching your bread or meat, you don't want to buy that bread or meat.

Think location. Imagine if they put tampons in the cookie aisle or baby diapers next to fresh meat. Those cookies and meat don't sound so appetizing, do they? But in our minds we KNOW it's all sealed and are all clean products.

So is it the cooties or is it just you? Read the article to see...

But if you still feel a little germy, you're not alone. But germaphobes around the globe can breathe a little easier. All you need to do is buy some No Cooties Spray or essential oils. Ahhhh, much better.

2 comments:

kate kiya said...

that's really interesting- it's amazing how our minds work- I for one would not want ANYTHING that has been in the vacinity of fish...my EEWWWW factor goes WAY up then!

Anonymous said...

At my elementary school we actually didn't have "cooties" but we had "boy-germs" and "girl-germs" which were eradicated by not "cootie shots" but "boy-spray" and "girl-spray". It frightens me somewhat that as of yet anyone I've ever talked to about this (who didn't go to my school) has never heard of such a thing....