Why do we name animals and plants after human beings?

In a limestone cave deep in Central Slovenia, an unremarkable insect lives in complete darkness. This tiny beetle, barely visible to the naked eye, has no eyes and a brownish-yellow coloration—adaptations to a life spent entirely underground. The beetle has survived for approximately two million years in this harsh environment, yet in the past century, it gained notoriety for reasons completely beyond its control: it was named after Adolf Hitler.

Recap: A veteran pathologist extolled the virtues of Roy Meadows and his pseudoscientific law to a large audience of US law enforcement. I need to tell him that he is completely wrong.

Recap: A New York detective took exception to me filming him at a conference on serial killers, and shouted at me to rewind the tape in front of 500 US cops.

A square-built man was bearing down on me at great speed, veins pulsing on his big bald head. I was being given the full New York cop, and I couldn’t handle it.