As Prof. Lisa T. Sarasohn explores and explains in her new book “Getting Under Our Skin; The Cultural and Social History of Vermin,” these ubiquitous long time companions of our species at some point in our history, became something more than the mundane nuisances that vexed our mythological first forefather Adam.
It usually begins in a similar manner each time. From the upstairs bathroom comes my daughter’s voice, “Papa!” From my wife in the living room, “Sweetheart – come in here please!” From the stairwell leading to her ground-floor apartment in the house we all share, my mother’s urgent inquiry “Where’s John?” Each of these calls generally […]
For most of us, the creatures we encounter in the field are objects of interest, study, or even affection, but when it comes to the moths in our closet, the silverfish under the sink, or the roaches in our cupboard, our feelings generally switch to irritation, disgust, and violence.