Whatzit?

[rogruth]

Does cootie = bed bug?

[chuck]

Head louse which was apparently the original source for the cootie moniker.

[rogruth]

I have no experience with either and from what I have hward never want to meet either.

[webenda]

Next clue:

[HONDO74]

a louse, esp. one affecting humans, as the body louse, head louse, or pubic louse

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Was not aware that a louse exhibited bioluminenscene -- "lightning bug"?

[E7]

Was not aware that a louse exhibited bioluminenscene -- "lightning bug"?

Looks more like a FIREFLY to me!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Was not aware that a louse exhibited bioluminenscene -- "lightning bug"?

Looks more like a FIREFLY to me!

All depends on where you are located - we called them lightning bugs

[HONDO74]

Wayne says he is looking for the same answer for both images

Both have a pink head 2 eyes, 2 antenna, 6 legs and a white tail ?????

[webenda]

Head louse which was apparently the original source for the cootie moniker.

The online etymology dictionary says the word came from the Malay (Austronesian) word “kutu,” the name of some parasitic, biting insect.

However, reports reveal that the popularity as a slang insult originated in World War I. As a nickname for body lice or head lice, cooties first appeared in trenches slang in 1915. It’s apparently derived from the coot, a species of waterfowl supposedly known for being infested with lice and other parasites.

Is it possible there is a connection between "kutu" and "cootie?"

In WW1 Malaysia (called Malaya then) did not commit troops to the war but many individual Malayans served in the Commonwealth forces. Some even saw action at the famous Gallipoli landing in Turkey.

So yes, there is a possible connection between "kutu" and "cootie?"

There was a Cootie game that was quite different from the one we are talking about that shows a WW1 scene on the box.
Image of Cootie Game, dated 1918.


Is the game piece that is the subject of this Whatzit a head louse?

The Cootie we are talking about was created by William Schaper, who had been carving wooden insects to be used as fishing lures. When he came up with the idea for the Cootie game, he carved the parts of a wooden insect for the game. The original Cootie game parts were hand carved by Mr. Schaper. In his patent, #167,006, dated June 10, 1950, does not define what the game part is.





Notice the cootie/firefly/lightning bug in this whatzit has wings, six legs, and three body parts (the thorax and abdomen are cast as one.) It is an insect. Now a head louse is a wingless insect, so the cootie in the Mr. Schaper's game is not a head louse.

I cannot prove or even give evidence on where Mr. Schaper came up with the name, "Cootie," for his game but I will guess... In North American English, children use the word to refer to a fictitious disease or condition, often infecting members of the opposite sex. I believe that children are the source of the name of Mr. Schaper's game. A cootie, in this case, is not specific insect but representative of a fictitious disease.

[webenda]

Does cootie = bed bug?

Yes, it could. However, "Cootie" is not specific to any insect and the term is often used to indicate any small biting insect.

[webenda]

NOTE
Merriam Webster gives the definition of a cootie as, "noun: body louse."
They do this because of what most people think it means. It actually has a far wider meaning... like a dice game with insect parts.

English is a Living Language, if enough people get it wrong, it becomes right.

[rogruth]

NOTE


English is a Living Language, if enough people get it wrong, it becomes right.

Such as #. When I was young, a long time ago, that meant number. Then pound and now hashtag.
I have no idea how it became hashtag.

[webenda]

NOTE


English is a Living Language, if enough people get it wrong, it becomes right.

Such as #. When I was young, a long time ago, that meant number. Then pound and now hashtag.
I have no idea how it became hashtag.

# has had a long history of meanings. It started as an abbreviation for the Roman term libra pondo, (which translates as "pound weight"), ℔ .



Once it looked like this, #, it was open to being used for all sorts of things.

One of the uses in computers was to label the following text as having a different interpretation (such as a command or a comment) from the rest of the text. It was adopted for use within internet relay chat (IRC) networks circa 1988 to label groups and topics. This usage inspired Chris Messina to propose a similar system to be used on Twitter to tag topics of interest on the microblogging network; this became known as a hashtag. Although used initially and most popularly on Twitter, hashtag use has extended to other social media sites.

Now you know who to blame for "hashtag" as we know it today.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign#cite_note-7

[sleepmac]

Wayne, thank you for the explanation. Live and learn on MTJ!

Dan Weinhold