[Carlhole]

Schopenhauer was a philosopher who spent his life expositing the non-existence of God and elaborating on the meaninglessness of life. He wrote that we would all be infinitely better off had we never been born and I imagine that he would have been a popular and well-regarded contributor here on PO.com had he not been so unfortunate to have been born a century and a half before the internet was invented.

The Schopenhauer Awards pays homage to S by dishing up examples of the ugliness and cruelty of the natural world in which we all strive and die wretchedly.

Dicrocoelium Dendriticum, the Liver Fluke

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schopenhauer Awards', 'T')his week we salute one of the few parasites who's managed to become a star in his own right. This whimsical little fellow answers to the jaw-breaking moniker "dicrocoelium dendriticum," but he's better known for his elaborate reproduction number. You may have heard of him as the guy who invented that wild snail-to-ant-to-sheep routine. You see, D. D. is one of those ambitious parasites who aren't content to hatch, lay eggs and die in one boring host organism. He's a traveler, an ambitious fellow who won't settle for anything less than premium tour packages. For him to produce the next generation of little D.D.s, this ambitious little fluke has to pass through half the zoo!

[PenultimateManStanding]

These are pretty good and disgusting. Remember the wasp that spec posted about that takes control of a beetle's brain by an injection and leads it to a hole where it paralyses it. The perfect live, motionless snack for the wasp larva. What does Schopenhauer say about these:

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'W')hat does Schopenhauer say about these:

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'W')hat does Schopenhauer say about these:

[Schweinshaxe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'W')hat does Schopenhauer say about these:

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schweinshaxe', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'W')hat does Schopenhauer say about these: