Cooties
Encyclopedia
Cooties is in American childlore
, a kind of STD usually found on the male penis infectious disease
found only in boys. The term may have originated with references to lice, flea
s, and other parasites. A child is said to "catch" cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, or touching of an "infected" person or from a person of the opposite sex of the same age. Often the "infected" person is someone who is perceived as "different" and bears some kind of social stigma
: of the opposite sex, disabled, someone who is shy or withdrawn, someone who has peculiar mannerisms, etc. The phrase is most commonly used by children aged 4–10; however, it is also used by many others older than 10.
date back to the First World War. It appeared in a 1917 service dictionary.
Albert Depew's World War I memoir, Gunner Depew (1918), includes: "Of course you know what the word "cooties" means ... When you get near the trenches you get a course in the natural history of bugs, lice, rats and every kind of pest that had ever been invented." Similarly, Lieut. Pat O'Brien's memoir published March 1918, Outwitting the Hun: My Escape from a German Prison Camp refers to "cooties," on pages 61, 62 and 63, which in Lt. O'Brien's case had been caught in the prison camp in Courtrai. The infestation had originated from German soldiers who had become infested in the trenches. Cooties were treated by providing a pickle bath in some kind of solution. Lice were of course rife in the trenches on both sides of the conflict, and highly contagious.
The word is thought to originate from the Austronesian
languages' Polynesian
, Tagalog
, and Malayan word kutu, meaning lice, or kudis , meaning scabies
. The term presumably having been brought to the West by Western sailor
s and/or soldier
s who had traveled to Polynesia
, the Philippines
, or Malaya
.
From its original meaning of head or body lice, the term seems to have evolved into a purely imaginary stand-in for anything contagious and repulsive.
For ages 5 onwards, Cooties are known in Denmark
as "pigelus" (literally "girl lice"), and "drengelus" ("boy lice") and in Norway
as "jentelus" ("girl lice") and "guttelus" ("boy lice"). In Sweden
and Finland
, it usually refers to girls, where they are known as "tjejbaciller" (literally "girl bacilli
") and "tyttöbakteeri" ("girl bacteria").
" each other from cooties by administering a "cootie shot
". One child typically administers the "shot" by reciting the rhyme "circle, circle / dot, dot / now you've got the cootie shot" while using an index finger
to trace the circles and dots on another child's forearm
.
In some variations, a child may continue to then say "circle, circle / square, square / now you have it everywhere", in which case the child receives an immunization throughout his or her body. These variations may continue to a final shot where the child then says "circle, circle / knife, knife / now you've got it all your life", or "circle, circle / fire, fire / now your shot will never expire", or "nickel, nickel / dime, dime / now you've got it all the time", or "circle, circle / penny, penny / now you have it for infinity" while using their index finger to draw vertical lines on the other child's forearm.
In some countries, there is a slight variation of the original rhyme, it reads "circle, circle / dot, dot / now you've got the cootie lock". Note the variation in the final word of the rhyme from "shot" to "lock". The "lock" is deemed official once the child's right thumb and forefinger are touching while interlocking with the left thumb and forefinger from the left hand. The formation often resembles a figure eight. Children acknowledge there is very little that can be done to infect a friend with cooties if he/she has the "cootie lock" effectively in place. There is little explanation that points to why there is this slight, yet important variation within Canadian and American culture.
Alternatively, cooties can be immunized through one child creating a square using his or her index and middle fingers (making a peace sign
in each hand and laying one on top of the other). The other child then pokes his index finger through the square, at which point he becomes immunized from cooties infection.
In playground lore, the power of a "cootie shot" is not limited to use as an immunization. The "victim" of cooties may receive a cootie shot as treatment, at which time the cootie shot may "cure" the disease. In this way, the cootie shot acts more like an antidote rather than a vaccine. When used as an antidote, sometimes a "cooties shot" is actually just a punch to the upper arm which then "cures" the punched one from the "disease".
Sometimes cootie catcher
s are constructed by children and used to trap cooties so the cooties can then be discarded.
, on television
, in novels and on the Internet. References range from physical manifestation as fantastical creatures to more realistic portrayal as a cultural convention and to the traditional interpretation as lice.
Childlore
Childlore is the folklore or folk culture of children and young people. It includes, for example, rhymes and games played in the school playground...
, a kind of STD usually found on the male penis infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
found only in boys. The term may have originated with references to lice, flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s, and other parasites. A child is said to "catch" cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, or touching of an "infected" person or from a person of the opposite sex of the same age. Often the "infected" person is someone who is perceived as "different" and bears some kind of social stigma
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
: of the opposite sex, disabled, someone who is shy or withdrawn, someone who has peculiar mannerisms, etc. The phrase is most commonly used by children aged 4–10; however, it is also used by many others older than 10.
Origin
The earliest known recorded uses of cooties in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
date back to the First World War. It appeared in a 1917 service dictionary.
Albert Depew's World War I memoir, Gunner Depew (1918), includes: "Of course you know what the word "cooties" means ... When you get near the trenches you get a course in the natural history of bugs, lice, rats and every kind of pest that had ever been invented." Similarly, Lieut. Pat O'Brien's memoir published March 1918, Outwitting the Hun: My Escape from a German Prison Camp refers to "cooties," on pages 61, 62 and 63, which in Lt. O'Brien's case had been caught in the prison camp in Courtrai. The infestation had originated from German soldiers who had become infested in the trenches. Cooties were treated by providing a pickle bath in some kind of solution. Lice were of course rife in the trenches on both sides of the conflict, and highly contagious.
The word is thought to originate from the Austronesian
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
languages' Polynesian
Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...
, Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, and Malayan word kutu, meaning lice, or kudis , meaning scabies
Sarcoptes scabiei
Sarcoptes scabiei or the itch mite is a parasitic arthropod that burrows into skin and causes scabies. Animals affected include not only human but also wild and domesticated dogs and cats in which it is one cause of mange...
. The term presumably having been brought to the West by Western sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s and/or soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s who had traveled to Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, or Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
.
From its original meaning of head or body lice, the term seems to have evolved into a purely imaginary stand-in for anything contagious and repulsive.
Other terms
The lice of the First World War trenches nicknamed "cooties" were also known as "arithmetic bugs" because "they added to our troubles, subtracted from our pleasures, divided our attention, and multiplied like hell."For ages 5 onwards, Cooties are known in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
as "pigelus" (literally "girl lice"), and "drengelus" ("boy lice") and in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as "jentelus" ("girl lice") and "guttelus" ("boy lice"). In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, it usually refers to girls, where they are known as "tjejbaciller" (literally "girl bacilli
Bacillus
Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species can be obligate aerobes or facultative anaerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase. Ubiquitous in nature, Bacillus includes both free-living and pathogenic species...
") and "tyttöbakteeri" ("girl bacteria").
Play treatment
In the United States, children sometimes "immunizeImmunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
" each other from cooties by administering a "cootie shot
Injection (medicine)
An injection is an infusion method of putting fluid into the body, usually with a hollow needle and a syringe which is pierced through the skin to a sufficient depth for the material to be forced into the body...
". One child typically administers the "shot" by reciting the rhyme "circle, circle / dot, dot / now you've got the cootie shot" while using an index finger
Index finger
The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...
to trace the circles and dots on another child's forearm
Forearm
-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles...
.
In some variations, a child may continue to then say "circle, circle / square, square / now you have it everywhere", in which case the child receives an immunization throughout his or her body. These variations may continue to a final shot where the child then says "circle, circle / knife, knife / now you've got it all your life", or "circle, circle / fire, fire / now your shot will never expire", or "nickel, nickel / dime, dime / now you've got it all the time", or "circle, circle / penny, penny / now you have it for infinity" while using their index finger to draw vertical lines on the other child's forearm.
In some countries, there is a slight variation of the original rhyme, it reads "circle, circle / dot, dot / now you've got the cootie lock". Note the variation in the final word of the rhyme from "shot" to "lock". The "lock" is deemed official once the child's right thumb and forefinger are touching while interlocking with the left thumb and forefinger from the left hand. The formation often resembles a figure eight. Children acknowledge there is very little that can be done to infect a friend with cooties if he/she has the "cootie lock" effectively in place. There is little explanation that points to why there is this slight, yet important variation within Canadian and American culture.
Alternatively, cooties can be immunized through one child creating a square using his or her index and middle fingers (making a peace sign
V sign
The V sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted, while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the cultural context and how it is presented...
in each hand and laying one on top of the other). The other child then pokes his index finger through the square, at which point he becomes immunized from cooties infection.
In playground lore, the power of a "cootie shot" is not limited to use as an immunization. The "victim" of cooties may receive a cootie shot as treatment, at which time the cootie shot may "cure" the disease. In this way, the cootie shot acts more like an antidote rather than a vaccine. When used as an antidote, sometimes a "cooties shot" is actually just a punch to the upper arm which then "cures" the punched one from the "disease".
Sometimes cootie catcher
Cootie Catcher
A fortune teller , is a form of origami used in children's fortune-telling games. A player asks a question, and the fortune teller operator answers using an algorithm to manipulate the fortune teller's shape...
s are constructed by children and used to trap cooties so the cooties can then be discarded.
Cooties in popular culture
As with any cultural convention, or fondly remembered concept from childhood, cooties are often referenced in movies, musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, in novels and on the Internet. References range from physical manifestation as fantastical creatures to more realistic portrayal as a cultural convention and to the traditional interpretation as lice.
Comic strips
- Calvin, of the Calvin and HobbesCalvin and HobbesCalvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
comic strip, does not seem to worry about catching cooties from close contact with individuals. However, he fears that he will catch them when he is the only boy on a playground full of girls. Apparently he believes that they are received from airborne transmission, as he begins breathing through his shirt and shouting "Air filter! Air filter!". In the same strip, Susie Derkins, one of the secondary characters who Calvin is with at the time, assures him that "Stupidity produces antibodies." Cooties are also mentioned when Hobbes is explaining that being in love means that when you see the object of your affection; your heart crushes your innards, makes you sweat, shorts the circuits to the brain and makes you babble like a cretin. As Calvin hears this he says that happened to him once, but that he thought that it was cooties. - In a February 2011 strip of DilbertDilbertDilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
the protagonist (in order to nullify a software contract, which permits his organs to be harvested by the customer), is advised (by the company lawyer) to obtain sworn affidavits from attractive women saying he has cooties. - Jason Fox of FoxTrot has a fear of girls and often mentions getting cooties after being touched by any girl in his class.
Film
- In the 1994 Hollywood hit, Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, cooties are mentioned in the context of sharing a drinking straw. - Irwin catches cooties and mono from kissing Mandy in Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure.
- In the movie series "Mr Monk", Season 5, episode 3, the prinicpal actor is affraid of catching the Cooties in a girl's locker room. He says "The jury is still out [on the question whether they exist], if they only could get more federal funding."
- In the movie, GreaseGrease (film)Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
, cooties are mentioned when Jan passes the bottle of wine to Sandy. - In the 1996 movie Jack, the title character retrieves a basketball that got away from the children. When he tries to give it back, they refuse saying it's covered in cooties.
- In the 1989 movie, Back to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
, when Biff grabs Lorraine's arm, she says "get your cooties off of me!". - In the 2011 movie, That's What I AmThat's What I AmThat's What I Am is a drama film starring Ed Harris and Chase Ellison. The film is directed by Michael Pavone. Its release date was April 29, 2011 in limited release, having been released on DVD about four weeks later.-Plot:...
, Jason Freel utters "From this the cooties came, with this the cooties shall remain!" while beating Karen "Cootie" Connor at Geek Corner.
Literature
- Cockroach CootiesCockroach Cooties-Plot summary:Two brothers, Teddy and Bobby, try to defend themselves because of a school bully named Arnie. The brothers discover that the bully is afraid of cockroaches. Bobby finds a cockroach and names it Hercules. Bobby uses cookies with strange ingredients to trick Arnie into a peace treaty...
is a novel by Laurence YepLaurence Yep-Background:Chinese-American, Yep was born in San Francisco, California to Yep Gim Lew and Franche. His older brother, Thomas named him after studying a particular saint in a multicultural neighborhood that consisted of mostly African Americans. Growing up, he often felt torn between both... - Cooties are the word for the lice in a child's hair in To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
by Harper LeeHarper LeeNelle Harper Lee is an American author known for her 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama...
. - In the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet EvanovichJanet EvanovichJanet Evanovich is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter to...
, cooties are mostly mentioned in regard to dead bodies. - In one of Johnathan Rand's American ChillersAmerican ChillersAmerican Chillers and Michigan Chillers are a series of books written by author Johnathan Rand. The series started in February 2000 as a Michigan-only series and expanded to a national focus in December 2001 with "Michigan Mega-Monsters"...
books (Oklahoma Outbreak), it was said for an outbreak of cooties to overtake a school. - Cooties is mentioned in Jeff Kinney (writer)Jeff Kinney (writer)Jeffrey "Jeff" Kinney is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, and author of children's books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is also attributed to be the creator of the children-oriented website Poptropica...
's novel Diary of a Wimpy KidDiary of a Wimpy KidDiary of a Wimpy Kid is a realistic fiction novel by Jeff Kinney. It is the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book is about a middle-school child named Greg Heffley and his struggles in middle school. Greg also had problems with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. The books focuses... - In the first book of Judy BlumeJudy BlumeJudy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
's Fudge series Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingTales of a Fourth Grade NothingTales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is a children's novel written by Judy Blume in 1972. It is the first of the "Fudge books". It was followed by Superfudge, Fudge-A-Mania and, most recently, Double Fudge...
Sheila Tubman (Peter's classmate) still believes in cooties and Peter and Jimmy Fargo give her the cooties.
Music
- "Cooties" was also one of the competitive song and dance numbers in the Broadway Musical, HairsprayHairspray (musical)Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
. It was sung by Amber announcing that her rival Tracy Turnblad has cooties. The song incorporates "Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot, Dot" as a dance move. In the motion pictureHairspray (2007 film)Hairspray is a 2007 musical film produced by Kolaja Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John...
, the song is sung by Aimee AllenAimee AllenAimee Allen is an American pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is known for her work on the dance song "Cooties" made for the soundtrack of the 2007 version of the movie Hairspray...
in the background of the dance-off in one of the final scenes, and is not sung by the character Amber. - Name of a Columbia, MissouriColumbia, MissouriColumbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
band known as the Cootie Shot Scandal. - Kooties is also a funk rock band from Australia
- Frank Zappa - Dinah-Moe Humm: "So I pulled on her hair, Got her legs in the air, An' asked if she had, any cooties on there; (Whaddya mean cooties! No cooties on me!)"
- Cootie Shot is a punk band based in northeast Pennsylvania.
- Circle Circle Dot DotCircle Circle Dot Dot"Circle Circle Dot Dot" is a single by Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone. It is the second single from their rap album Blowin' Up and is the first track on the album.-Origins:...
- Jamie KennedyJamie KennedyJames Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy is an American comedian, rapper, and actor.-Early life:Kennedy, the youngest of six children, was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family is of Irish descent and he was raised Roman Catholic. He attended and graduated from...
and Stu StoneStu StoneStuart Stone is a Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor as well as a producer of TV/film and music. Stone also has toured as a comedian and rapper... - Jazz trumpeter Cootie WilliamsCootie WilliamsCharles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.-Biography:...
Television
- Cooties have been referred to in a number of episodes of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. In one episode ("Homer: Bad Man") Bart claims they come from "a girl's butt" and in "The Wandering JuvieThe Wandering JuvieThe Wandering Juvie" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. The episode aired on March 28, 2004. It guest starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as Gina Vendetti.-Plot:...
" Bart is told by Gina that there is no such thing as cooties (as well as a variety of fake "cootie-repelling" type items such as cootie insurance, which BartBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
appears to have bought). In another episode, Tennis the MenaceTennis the Menace"Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2001. In the episode, the Simpsons build a tennis court in their backyard, but Homer's inferior tennis ability...
, Homer asks a Cootie CatcherCootie CatcherA fortune teller , is a form of origami used in children's fortune-telling games. A player asks a question, and the fortune teller operator answers using an algorithm to manipulate the fortune teller's shape...
"Do I have cooties?" He then opens a tab and reads "No." followed by "Wow this home testing kit has saved me a fortune!" There is also an episode in The Simpsons where Bart gives MilhouseMilhouse Van HoutenMilhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
his cootie shot by punching him. - Cooties is also mentioned in a FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
episode, during Season 5, when Joey referred to Ross's furniture having "Rachel Cooties" because Ross's wife Emily was making him sell all of his belongings which Rachel may have touched or come in contact with. - Cooties feature in the 1990s televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Dexter's LaboratoryDexter's LaboratoryDexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
, as small, girly insects with curly snouts that inhabit the bedroom of Dexter's older sister, Dee Dee. - In one of the episodes of Codename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
, where the KND scientists believed that their underwater science lab is quarantined because of cooties. - On an episode of the Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
program Cow & Chicken, Chicken was kissed by a girl named Whiney. This leads everybody to believe that Chicken has a particularly lethal strain of cooties known as "Whiney Cooties". Symptoms included his beak falling down, his butt dissolving, his eyeballs popping out of his head, and his beak shriveling. - In the first Ben 10Ben 10The Omnitrix was originally created by a Galvan named Azmuth. The Omnitrix was intended to allow beings to experience life as other species in order to bring understanding and foster peace in the universe....
episode, Ben refers to Gwen as "The Queen of Cooties". - In one episode of the Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
program The Powerpuff GirlsThe Powerpuff GirlsThe Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network...
, cooties were featured prominently, since at first, they are the main weakness of the Rowdyruff Boys, as they explode when the Girls kiss them in order to defeat them. However, later on, when they are resurrected by Him, they are given anti-cootie vaccinations with a spell 'Circle, circle. Dot, dot.Circle Circle Dot Dot"Circle Circle Dot Dot" is a single by Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone. It is the second single from their rap album Blowin' Up and is the first track on the album.-Origins:...
Now you got your cootie shot' to make them immune to the Girls' kisses. - The MTV2MTV2MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
show Wonder ShowzenWonder ShowzenWonder Showzen is an American sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by John Lee and Vernon Chatman of PFFR. The show is rated TV-MA....
featured an episode called "health" where a character called Wordsworth comes down with a case of the cooties; his friend Him uses it to his advantage and sells Wordsworth's encrusted cootie sores as snack treats. - In The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
season 2 episode: "The Vartabedian Conundrum", Leonard's girlfriend at the time, Stephanie Barnett, gives a "cooties shot" to Sheldon Cooper. - In Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
season 3 episode: "President Evil", a kid infected with cutties ends up with CDC and army deployment. - In a recent EntourageEntourage (TV series)Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
episode, during a scene in which Ari Gold talked about his frustration with women who he claimed 'blindly defence each other' with his children, he said 'all women have cooties'. - In Powerpuff Girls ZPowerpuff Girls ZPowerpuff Girls Z, known in Japan as or PPGZ for short, is a magical girl anime series based on the American animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. The anime is co-produced by Cartoon Network Japan and Aniplex and was animated by Toei Animation, featuring character design by Miho Shimogasa...
the Rowdyruff Boys have an irrational fear of cooties and believe the Powerpuff Girls have them thus try to avoid direct contact from them and anything else girly. In one episode, Brick had a plan to dress up like the Powerpuff Girls and give them a bad reputation. At first, Boomer and Butch don't like his plan because they think the clothes have cooties but Brick reassured them by saying that they were just washed. However, the Girls used it against them by saying they looked like real girls to which they became furious and embarrassed and took off the clothes. Boomer then quoted, "See, Brick? I told you these clothes would give up girl germs!"
Other uses
- The Game of Cootie, a children's tabletop game that uses 3-dimensional figures to portray the cooties as insectoid creatures.
See also
- Cootie catcherCootie CatcherA fortune teller , is a form of origami used in children's fortune-telling games. A player asks a question, and the fortune teller operator answers using an algorithm to manipulate the fortune teller's shape...
- List of fictional diseases
- Sex educationSex educationSex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
- Gender studiesGender studiesGender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
- Gender identityGender identityA gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
- Sex segregationSex segregationSex segregation is the separation of people according to their sex.The term gender apartheid also has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination...
External links
- Tregear E., The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Lyon and Blair, Wellington, NZ (1891)
- Origin of "cooties" from The Straight Dope