Sometimes a television show just grabs me. Especially when it is in cable reruns and I stumble across a block of many consecutive episodes. I’ve accidentally dedicated evenings to watching blocks of CSI, Myth Busters, Man v. Food, and Pawn Stars. Tonight Monsters Inside Me was added to the list.
Early in the evening I turned on CNN to watch some discussion on the Amanda Knox trial verdict. After the segment I wanted to hear was over I switched the television to the Travel Channel and watched Man v. Food at a low volume while I worked out some final details in my musical arrangements for Sunday. By the time I finished my arrangements another show was coming on (some nonsense about ghost hunters or something), so I reached for the remote to shut off my television. And then I committed a grievous error. I decided to channel surf for a moment before shutting off the TV.
As I wandered past the Discovery Channel I saw Monsters Inside Me in progress. Three episodes later I finally shut off my television. The show is about parasites. It is educational, interesting, and terrifying.
Why do I say terrifying? For several reasons. The footage of the parasites, in both real life shots and CGI images, is enough to make you imagine your skin is crawling. Most of the people suffering serious infestations of parasites were exposed to them through very normal activities. All of those people had at least one misdiagnosis of their condition and some had many misdiagnoses.
A rat lungworm hatches (Image via Discovery Communications, LLC).
You can check out the show on Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel. Or if you just want a glimpse of it, here is a link to the AnimalPlanet Youtube channel, which has a series of clips from the show (link).
It’s a scary world out there.
