Today I Learned

Today I learned that leeches have an anti-coagulent in their -- uh -- beings, so when they suck blood they also thin it. That means they can suck a lot of blod without it clotting which would wreck their time, rain on their parade, harsh their blood-sucking mellow.

Ya can't suck blood if it stiffens up on you!

This gross fact came courtesy of a Nova show on PBS. A construction worker who nearly lost all his fingers in a trucking accident had them saved by leeches being applied to them and sucking the blood out, when surgery could not manage this because the veins are too delicate.

It was almost too sickening to watch. But too fascinating not to.