Earwigs Named #1

If the MacPreps website is not on your daily viewing list, you may have missed this:

 

 Staff Report

MaxPreps.com

Every other week, MaxPreps.com’s experts square off to tackle high school sports’ toughest questions. Today, we celebrate the nation’s most unique high school nicknames/mascots and attempt to make a case for the best.

Which high school has the nation’s most unique nickname/mascot?

Kevin Askeland, National Baseball Editor

The small town of Los Olivos, Calif., tucked away in the wine country of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, is the home of the prestigious Dunn School. The town has been the setting for films such as “Sideways” and the ever-popular made-for-TV movie “Return to Mayberry.” Former Davy Crockett star Fess Parker owns a hotel there and Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch is just a few miles away. None of this, however, explains why Dunn School's mascot is the Earwig. The earwig is an insect most notable for the forcep-like structure at the end of its abdomen. Also known as a pincher bug, the earwig was named based on an old wives tale that this insect burrowed into people's brains to lay their eggs by crawling through the ear. A member of the Dunn soccer team reportedly took on the Earwig name in the late 1970s, perhaps as a joke. The school later officially adopted the nickname in 1979. The Earwig is officially listed on the Southern Section website as that section's No. 1 most unique nickname.