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The Worm Turned—Action and Reaction^*

My reason for selecting a subject on worms for this address is that my professional career has been largely devoted to the study of parasitic worms, and I have always found these creatures interesting and at times exciting. It is, therefore, another instance of "Doing What Comes Naturally."

At what time man first attached any significance to the action of worms must be a matter of pure conjecture; it is quite unimportant. But at one time, somewhere along our ancestral trail, someone possessing that rare quality, curiosity, stopped long enough to watch a crawling creature; he probably poked at it, and also, probably to his astonishment, noted that the creature turned sharply against the poker. The observation provoked an idea: the proverb, "The worm turned." Thus, a saying burst forth. It was pleasing, it spread, became commonplace and, let us say with all due credit to Theodor Storm, the author of that delightful novelette, "Immensee," it sprouted, it dropped from a cloud, floated over land like gossamer and was sung in a thousand places at the same time.

^* Presidential address before the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at its annual meeting, November 7th, 1958 at Miami Beach, Florida.