Why do men spit???

Though this street scene seems to be a man's favorite place to spit, there are plenty of other spots that many of them find pleasant territory for their extra-curricular activity.

One of the Mysteries of Life

Yesterday I was walking into the grocery store behind a man who spit TWICE on the sidewalk in front of me, causing me to have to walk through it!

This happens so often that I found myself wondering--Why DO men feel the compulsion to spit? I rarely ever see women spit. Why is that? Are we so genetically different that the male of the species must eliminate the excess saliva in his mouth through spitting, rather than swallowing? Is a man's saliva more toxic than a woman's??

I mentioned the topic to Paul Corbin this morning, when he called the newspaper office to ask about whether he could begin a sentence with "and" or "but."

Even though Paul is of the masculine persuasion, he admitted that he thought spitting was disgusting.

"Do you notice how often baseball players spit?" he said.

That made me wonder.... Are all these male spitters merely trying to obtain some of that "cool" image that our sports heroes have?

Do you ever see female athletes spit? Can you imagine Martina Navratilova spitting on the tennis court?

Is spitting considered one of those extremely masculine things like arm-wrestling or weight-lifting or carrying a rifle in the back window of your pick up truck?

Somehow, I don't believe that ego or status covers all the issues. I know of a man who walks the streets of Dexter every day, spitting every few feet. He is totally unaware that anyone is watching him, so how can he be concerned about whether he's appearing "masculine"?

A couple of years ago, I witnessed a terrible spitting spectacle: I walked into the grocery store behind a rather large, unkempt man who walked all through the store, spitting on the floor. He bought NOTHING! He then walked back out of the store, got in his car, and waited for his wife to return from her grocery shopping. If that doesn't kill your appetite, I don't know what will.

A week or so later, I was in the Dollar General store, and there were handmade signs everywhere--"NO SPITTING IN STORE!!!" I asked the manager what the deal was, and she said that the same man came through her store, spitting, and she kicked him out!

YOU GO, GIRL!!!

How can these people not realize how gross and disgusting that habit is? How can any woman be attracted to a man who spits?

From the small-town streets of Advance, Missouri, where local customs often boggle my mind, this is your rural North County orphan reporter Madeline, signing off on a seasonally cool day in November and hoping to avoid spitters for the rest of the weekend!