Free Press writer Julie Hinds coined a phrase in trying to answer the question: "Why is reality TV so popular?" Why do civilized human beings enjoy watching other supposedly-civilized human beings: 

• eat worms
• writhe in a bed of dead fish
• swap moms
• throw themselves at a self-centered bachelor or bachelorette
• and in a hundred and one ways, make fools of themselves?

Hinds says the answer lies in what she calls the "ick factor…the strange yet effective tool that lures audiences to the maggot-eating competitions on Fear Factor and the crazy police chases on Fox." She defined the "ick factor" (as in "icky") as the allure and intrigue of watching something "offensive to the senses," which pretty much sums up most of reality TV. [1]

The "ick factor." The phrase caught my eye. Is that wha…