E. coli Are Bacterial Kittens.

Being the huge microbiology nerd that I am, I can ramble on endlessly about viruses, parasites, and bacteria. I've found it to be a handy way to get out of those awkward silences in conversations, particularly in the rare occasion when a man is hitting on me. Such an interaction usually goes as such:

Man: "Hey there"
Me, looking up from my textbook: "Hello!"
Man: "What are you reading?"
Me, holding up my textbook and beaming proudly: "Mahon's Textbook Diagnostic Microbiology!"
Man: "Is that a picture of a man's..."
Me, interrupting: "Yup, this poor guy had a really nasty MRSA infection."
Man: "I, uh..."
Me, completely oblivious: "MRSA is actually pretty cool. See, a lot of bacterium evolved to produce the beta lactamase enzyme, which blocks the action of Methicillin. Not just Methicillin, it works against Penicillin, Ampicillin. All the Cillins, really. And then MRSA took it a step further by changing the protiens the antibiotics bind to, the Penicillin Binding Proteins. Cool, huh?"
Man, still staring at the picture: "I really need to go. I need to, uh, I forgot to wash my hair." * runs off *

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have shown him that picture.

When it comes to bacteria, I just can't help myself; I love the little guys. Seriously, look at this picture:

Look at him! He's like a cute little half-stoned Rastafarian! I want to pick it up and hug it while it praises Zion.

Or, take the example of this E.coli:

It's so fluffy! Like a kitten! That's right: E.coli are the kittens of the bacterial world. I can just imagine it laying in a sunbeam in my living room, getting high on E.coli-nip and running around my house chasing imaginary monsters. I bet my bacterial kitten would even curl up on the pillow next to me while I sleep.

Admit it. You want one.