For The Man, Or Woman That Has Everything,

a pen with a pet,

the pet in question is a Anisakis, which is a genus of parasitic nematodes that infect various species of fish, above: Left: A coiled anisakid worm (Pseudoterranova decipiens) in a fillet of cod. Center: A view of the anterior (head) end of Pseudoterranova decipiens, showing the presence of “lips”; taken under differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. Right: Pseudoterranova decipiens recovered from a human patient. (Credit: DPDx), it is a genus of parasitic nematodes that infect various species of fish and can cause anisakiasis  – a parasitic infection of the gastrointestinal tract – in humans who consume raw or undercooked seafood containing larvae of the aforementioned nematode. Some people can also suffer an acute allergic reaction like anaphylaxis after eating fish infected with anisakis. In short, this aquatic parasite is not the kind of thing you’d want anywhere near you, so why would anyone create a pen with a live anisakis worm encased inside? especially if you are in the habit of sucking the  end of your pen!

who knows? but here is the pen and pet, photograph Twitter/Tada2547, the live nematode pen is a real thing that you can buy and gift to a special someone to let them know how much they mean to you, or you can just keep it for yourself and amuse yourself by watching the parasite slithering inside its little tank, according to those who actually bought it, the nematode-containing pen sells for 950 yen, at today's rate £6.35 or $8.75, the parasite inside is apparently quite active for several days (4 – 5 days by most accounts), after which it becomes more inactive and eventually dies, 

many thanks to twitter.com/tada2547, for showing us exactly what the parasites look like in the ballpoint pen, interestingly, Japan is one of the areas of the world where anisakiasis cases are most frequently, due to the consumption of raw seafood (sashimi). The most common symptom is acute abdominal pain, but Wikipedia does a great job of explaining exactly what goes on in your stomach that causes that pain, “Within a few hours of ingestion, the parasitic worm tries to burrow though the intestinal wall, but since it cannot penetrate it, it gets stuck and dies. The presence of the parasite triggers an immune response; immune cells surround the worms, forming a ball-like structure that can block the digestive system, causing severe abdominal pain, malnutrition, and vomiting,” the Wikipedia article states, definitely a present for the man or woman that has everything, except Anisakiasis!