Pick, Spit & Scratch: The Science of Disgusting Habits

Parents and teachers, turn nagging about nose-picking and other gross habits into STEM learning moments with Pick, Spit & Scratch! Each spread presents a specific bad habit along with weird, disgusting facts.

As any parent or teacher will attest, all kids have bad habits from, er, time to time. They pick their nose. They hold their pee. Or pee in pools. They pick their nose. They don’t brush their teeth. They pick their nose. But we seldom stop to think that there are science lessons in these habits.

Each spread in Pick, Spit & Scratch! describes a specific bad habit, and provides multilayered reading opportunities in the form of weird, disgusting facts that ratchet up the gross factor. Bad habits are transformed into relatable concepts for kids; for example, we swallow up to a quart of snot a day—enough to fill a small milk carton.

In some cases, the author even debunks myths about bad habits by introducing counter-intuitive scientific research (boogers may actually have health benefits) or humorously turning the tables on adults (one study showed that most adults pick their noses, too).

Kids will love Pick, Spit & Scratch! because it's gross. Parents will love it because it says, “I told you so.” The book may not break habits, but it might just make us think before we engage in them!