To me if "the public perceives it" and a child gets head lice following a visit to a museum -- WHO is to blame ? I don't need the bad will. John Awald State Agricultural Heritage Museum http://www.agmuseum.com -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Paul Orselli Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 9:08 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Head lice on hats -- AGAIN!! On Tue, 25 Apr 2000 11:07:04 -0400, Matthew White <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Well, I have just searched all the lice web pages and they all say you CAN >catch lice via shared hats and clothes although one site does draw a >distinction between head lice & body lice. So, until I find the other >citation that claims this may be a myth, I retract my earlier statement. Regarding head lice: The two links below connect to two of the world's foremost experts on the head lice/public health issue. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html http://www.healthcare.ubc.ca/lice/ A colleague and I have both had personal conversations with the primary researchers at both Harvard and The University of British Columbia, and they BOTH stated that their is NO PROBLEM with head lice and hats in a museum setting. There is not one bit of scientific evidence or research to show otherwise. The problem lies with misinformation and the public's continuing impression that hats spread lice. My personal experience is that if you have to use hats in an exhibition use durable plastic hats. Visitors seem to less trouble accepting plastic hats than fabric ones. Good Luck! Paul Orselli Director of Exhibits Long Island Children's Museum ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).