Of all the germs kids are exposed to on the playground, there’s one they freak out about more than any other: cooties. The word first appeared during World War I as soldiers’ slang for the painful ...

"Cooties" refers to a highly infectious disease. The word "cootie" derives from the Tagalog word "kutu," or "parasitic biting insect." The related word "kudis" translates to "playground death." The ...