Well I NEVER!! : )
"The culprit behind “the germ of laziness,” as the South’s affliction was sometimes called, was Necator americanus—the American murderer. Better known today as the hookworm, millions of those bloodsucking parasites lived, fed, multiplied, and died within the guts of up to 40% of populations stretching from southeastern Texas to West Virginia. Hookworms stymied development throughout the region and bred stereotypes about lazy, moronic Southerners."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/how-a-worm-gave-the-south-a-bad-name/
Internet pics of hookworms:
