Mrs. Brady gets the crabs from a one-night stand

An upcoming memoir reveals another stain on the perceived wholesomeness of the “Brady Bunch” clan.

77-year-old actress Florence Henderson, who for years in the 1960's and 70’s played the all-American mother, Carol Brady, tells all about an affair she had with a prominent politician that resulted in a bad case of the crabs.

I her book, "Life is Not a Stage", Henderson tells all about a one-night-stand she had decades ago with then New York City Mayor, John Lindsay.

According to a Saturday Reuters report, she recalls Lindsey making moves on her at the Beverly Hills Hotel in which she succumbed to the politician’s advances.

She says she went home afterwards to wake to ever-disgusting "little black things" crawling over her bed and body.

A doctor diagnosed Henderson with pubic lice. The gentleman that he was, Lindsey apologized for the infestation with flowers and an apology.

What exactly did Carol Brady catch in the heat of passion at the Beverly Hills Hotel?

The pubic louse, Phthirus pubis, is typically found on pubic hair, but can also be found in armpit hair, eyebrows or mustaches and beards. It is strictly a human infection; you cannot get them from animals.

They get the nickname “crabs” from its appearance in the adult or nymph stage. They have six legs with the two front ones having the resemblance of pincher claws.

Pubic lice are tan to grayish white in color.

You may also see the nit stage. These are the lice eggs. They are oval, yellow to white in color and attached to the hair shaft. You may need a magnifying glass to see the details of the louse or nit.

They don’t transmit any infectious disease; however there may be allergic reaction and redness from the lice saliva. Itching that crabs cause can make a person scratch and secondary bacterial infection is possible.

In young children pubic lice may also be a cause of blepharitis (irritation or infection of the eyelids).

In most cases, pubic lice are transmitted sexually from the pubic hair of one person to another. But lice can be contracted in other ways, too — from infested clothing, towels and bedding.