The annual "mayfly hatch," as it's so charmingly known in towns along the Mississippi River, has yielded a specific kind of repulsion the past few days as the pests that commonly hatch along river towns have burst onto everything from gas pumps to soda machines to busy roads, causing car accidents.

A fly landed on my nose.

Your kid might be able to paint this, but not using the method of the flies that actually painted it. It's part of a series that is the brainchild of Los Angeles artist John Knuth, who fed over 250,000 flies pigments and had them do the work for him.

Chinese flies looking to build a beautiful life for themselves in the public toilets of Beijing were dealt a crushing blow earlier this week, after government officials rolled out a new set of sanitation guidelines including a "two fly-maximum" rule for restrooms.

Coffee mystery! Asteroid deflection! Earth expansion! Fly paranoia! Acoustic cloaking! Bear strings! Homo sapienism! Smartest insect! And stupid fish are all like, "Which hand makes the 'L?'" It's your Wednesday Science Watch, where we watch science—as best we can!

[Barack Obama deals with a pesky infiltrator during his briefing about health care reform at the White House today. Maybe they should budget more money for ointment. Image via Getty]

President Obama was doing an interview with CNBC today when a pesky fly started buzzing around, interrupting the proceedings. So, without missing a beat, Obama employed his stealth ninja reflexes and handily dispatched the pest. Watch and be in awe.