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Parasite Correlated With World Cup Success
mahiskali writes "A parasite commonly found in cats, Toxoplasma gondii, has an unnerving relation to World Cup victories by country. (This parasite was discussed here twice in 2006.) Toxo can be found in almost every type of mammal, from rats to humans. The overall goal of the parasite is to end up in a feline stomach, which is the only place it can reproduce. In other mammals, humans for example, the parasite heads for the brain. It is estimated that nearly 1/3 of the human population has a latent Toxo infection, with individual countries having infection rates varying from 6% (Korea) to 92% (Ghana). Countries with greater incidence of this parasitic infection in their populations tend to win more World Cups than those without. The article, written by a Stanford University neuroscientist, goes on to try out various rationales for such a correlation, ranging from increased testosterone to increased dissent of authority — all symptoms of a Toxo infection. Now we just need to find a parasite that causes an inability to referee properly, and we'll have this whole World Cup business all sorted out."
Just pointing out, this comment is not actually off topic, it's a reference to Trainspotting. In the film one of the characters dies of Toxoplasmosis complicated by AIDS. The guy was also a huge soccer fan.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
More than that, the parasite doesn't just slow the rats, it actually modifies their behavior, sometimes making them attracted to cats and cat urine. It does do some strange things in humans too, e.g. it is possibly correlated to schizophrenia. I personally have always wondered if Toxoplasmosis is what causes people to keep dozens of cats in a confined space like an apartment. Having been in places like that, I can't think of a logical reason why one would otherwise want so many cats around.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
Except that its not.
The FIFA World Cup process includes teams from pretty much the whole world (there are few nations that don't aren't FIFA members, but not many.) Sure, most teams don't last past the
the qualifiers, but that doesn't mean they aren't part of the process.
OTOH, the MLB "World" Series, even including the MLB regular season as a "qualifying" process, includes teams from two countries.
So, no, the two aren't even approximately equal.
It's not really a World Cup, it's a European-South American Cup with a couple countries from other continents invited.
"Invited?" Every World Cup tournament is preceded by World Cup qualifying matches in which every country meeting FIFA criteria (which is pretty much every country) participates. That's why it's called the World Cup.
Almost %50 of the population... Therefore most of the world does play football, even though you are wrong with your claim. Football has a massive following in China, being one of the most popular sports, in India only being ranked second to cricket (which is kind of a given). In the US it is the most popular recreational sport for both male & female competitors.
Your claims fall flat on their face when tested to any degree.
The World Cup is an international event, and starts again pretty much as soon as the cup is won. Just because you only follow the World Cup when your team is in the group stages doesn't mean it isn't going on for 4 years.
You need to check your facts before you make huge claims on slashdot, if not, we will.
Football is the #1 sport in China and FIFA is the most watched sports event in China.