Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.ANTS IN OUR PANTS
One painfully memorable day this spring Jack Reese did a crazy dance in the middle of a persimmon grove on his farm in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Flailing wildly, he tried to yank off his pants and swat his ankles at the same time. He had made one of the worst mistakes a Southern farmer can make: he forgot to watch the ground for a moment and thus tromped on a foot-high mound full of fire ants. Incensed by the intrusion, the insects promptly swarmed up Reese's legs, stinging him mercilessly over and over again. It felt like dozens of hot needles...
To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below
Current print subscribers to register
Subscribe now to get TIME All Access
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Fourth Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Case Confirmed in Georgia, Possible Fifth
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Obama Stumbles? Why the President's Right to Talk About Bain
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
RAY KELLY, New York City Police Commissioner, on the arrest of a New Jersey man in one of the nation's most baffling missing-children cases, the disappearance more than three decades ago of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
