I’ve tried that bit with tensing my muscle when a mosquito is biting me, and perhps I didn’t tense it enough or something, but the darn thing just filled up and then flew off. I always thought that the whole thing was a myth perpetuated by mosquitoes.
A link to the column you’re commenting on is appreciated: If you flex your muscle when a mosquito bites you, will it swell up and explode?
I know this proves nothing, but I did this pretty much nonstop when I was a kid; me – not my brother, uncle, friend, blah, blah, blah – so I know whereof I speak. I never stretched the skin, per se. Rather, I used to grab the skin on either side of the skeeter and pinch, which produces the same stretching effect. Mosquito stays in place until you release the skin or it bursts, whichever comes first. I think this method probably requires less dexterity than trying to stretch the skin by pulling outwards.
I can’t test to see if I can still manage it, since we have so few mosquitoes at my current house that I can’t remember the last time I was bitten (drat! :)). I’m sure I didn’t invent this independently; one of my worthless childhood friends must have shown it to me. I do know that lots of us used to do this on hot summer evenings around dusk, so I don’t think it’s a rare or unusual talent – at least among tweener boys.
This subject always reminds me of this Far side cartoon by Gary Larson.
What is the point? If you see a mosquito on your skin, SWAT it. If it is full of blood, that will explode it much more reliably than trying to stretch skin.
Ahh, spoken like someone who is definitely not a ten year old boy 
You can do the same thing by holding the skeeter’s head down so it can’t pull out.
I did this once at summer camp. The skeeter did explode, and I pulled the head out without a problem. The downside was that particular bite itched above and beyond the call of duty for a week afterwards.
I’m on dialysis so I have what’s known as an arterial/venous fistula. Basically they combine a vein and an artery to make it easier to insert the 15 gauge, one inch needles for dialysis. I’ve often wondered what would happen to a mosquito that decided to bite my fistula. There’s so much blood going through it that it bulges up on my arm and is about an inch across.
I thought you guys were talking about this video.
