I'm not exactly sure how we got on the topic. I think it may have started when I called him a worm (we come up with all sorts of fun names for each other when we're joking around), and from there it degenerated rapidly to worm butts and whether or not worms were slimy. At some point I determined that the origin of all dirt was one extremely large and hungry worm with incredibly strong jaws who starting gnawing on rocks, but I digress. The point here is that I'm still not exactly sure how we ended up on the topic of worm sex (a phrase that I figure should generate some awfully amusing searches on this journal).

We both at least knew that worms were hermaphrodites (which means, for those of you eyeballing that word and saying "huh?", that they don't actually have a gender), so it shouldn't surprise you that the conversation next slid down into some sarcastic snorting laughter regarding how they decided which one was male and which one was female. But then we got stumped trying to figure out what happens next, *after* the worm sex is over and the male-for-the-moment worm rolls over and starts snoring while the female-for-the moment worm complains that he never wants to just cuddle anymore. Do they lay eggs, or does the female-for-the-day worm suddenly get weird cravings for sardines and garlic ice cream and have to get a whole new wardrobe, and eventually spurt out a whole mess of wiggly little wormlets?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever wondered about this sort of thing (Yes, you did too wonder. Quit snickering), so I figured it was important to find out. After all, what is this journal for but to share all the true excitement of my life with a few thousand of my nearest and dearest.

So I went searching today, for information about worm sex. I'm sure you'll all be as thrilled as I was to find out that there are apparently lots of scientists in the world who have been plagued with the same questions about worm reproduction as I was, such as how the worms decide who gets to be the male and who gets to be the female, or even how worms signal each other to participate in worm sex in the first place. As fascinating as all of this was, however, my search ended when eventually I stumbled across a site called Worm World, which explained all the rest of those unanswered questions, such as...

Well, actually, I wouldn't want to spoil the suspense for the rest of you. Go look for yourself. After all, I got you this far (ah, the things I do for this journal). Just think of what you'll now be able to tell your friends that you learned today!