Nature's A Little Gross

Now that I've been blogging for nearly five years, I feel it's time I come clean about something to you, my faithful readers. Here it is, a deep, dark secret of mine.

Sometimes nature grosses me out.

Sure, there are gross things in nature, like slugs, that are important. Though I can't think of one off the top of my head right now, I know slugs serve an important purpose in ye olde circle of liiiiiife.  I'm talking about things like a whole bunch of mussel shells stuck to a rock. GROSS.  The spores on the backs of fern leaves. SHUDDER. But the worst?  CRACKED MUD. Seriously. It makes me gag.

I worked on a dance show the first year I worked at Cornell that involved 5 choreographes, 4 of whom took the elements of nature (fire, air, water and earth) and created a dance based on their assigned element.  In our design meeting, the set designer brought in photos for reference. One of them was a full-screen shot of cracked mud.  I gagged so hard people heard me.

Maybe it's the naturally occurring patterns that freak me out, since  I also can't look at segmented worms for too long without gagging.  Something about all that symmetry is just nasty. 

As for food, I don't like to look at highly marbled raw beef, raw chicken skin (BUMPS, OMG) or, watit for it, the tops of tomatoes. I'm ok if they don't have those weird little lines on them, but if there are lines, FORGET IT. Gag city. Spotted bananas also gross me out, but not on par with the tops of tomatoes. Here, because I love you, I will give you a visual aid.

Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.

Ok, that one on the left is extra gross, probably to everyone. But it gets the point across, right?

Now that I've nearly made myself hurl, I'm wrapping this up.

Do any of you have naturally occurring things that gross you out? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Comments

[Kat]

Pork rinds, almost can't even type it.
Cold wet food, maggots or larvae of any kind. Fish scales which is so humorous considering how much I love fish.
Smells are usually what gets me, spoiled milk and burning green wood being the absolute worst.
Do you remember the cologne that Phillip wore during Christmas Carol? Nearly killed me, I held my breath anytime I had to go into his dressing room. And whatever that smell was in the MFA men's dreading room - I still have olfactory nightmares.

[HotchPotchery]

Wow. This is an awesome post because I think that is crazy funny that stuff grosses you out!! The tops of tomatoes???? Love it. The shell thing, what if I told you those grow on my boat?!?

Most nature doesn't gross me out at all, but some of it petrifies me---namely roaches.

But, the smell of cold marinara?? I gag every time.

[J]

LOL!!!!! This post cracks me up! Some of these I didn't even know! As your mother, who isn't grossed out by much, it's especially funny. Those tomatoes? I'd snatch them up in a hurry before anyone else could get them. The one on the right would make one fine tomato sandwich, after the top was cut off, of course.

Now, shall we talk about words that make you gag? Hmm...? ;)

[eva]

Mainly for me it's smells. Eggs. Over-ripe bananas. Sardines. More eggs, being cooked any way at all. B.O. Garlic coming out of someone's pores or on their breath. Musty towel smells. The over-ripe grubby smell of little kids (including, sadly, my own) who have missed a couple baths.

Oh and the sounds! Squeaking teeth, nails on a chalkboard, knife on a plate etc etc etc etc.

And more etc.

I have never heard of being so skeeved out by symmetrical worm lines, but I TOTALLY get it!

[Molly]

I need to think about this for a few minutes, to come up with my answers. But right now? I need to tell you this post cracked me up. Too funny!

[Kirk]

The spores on the back of fern leaves gross me out too . Plants growing on people too..