OK, we all know how poisonous fugu can be if not prepared properly. Here’s the question: If you put someone on life-support, will the poison eventually work itself out of the system? I’ve heard of this working once for a victim of a black mamba bite. (But that’s a venom, as opposed to a poison.)
Yes.
The poison is a paralytic. The cause of death is from respiratory failure. The problem is the poison is fast acting, requiring immediate intervention.
So what’s the difference between a venom and a poison?
The way I use the terms, a poison is something that is toxic when ingested and a venom is a toxin that is injected via bite or sting.
It can.
At a certain point it’s just going to flat out kill you, but there’s a middle ground between “no effect” and “life support is useful”. Eventually your body detoxifies the toxin, but it takes awhile, much longer than you can exist without breathing.
Obligatory Simpsons reference.
One of my favorite episodes from the early seasons!
I think there might be overlap between those though… would not a poison (in your usage) also be toxic if injected? And a venom toxic when ingested? Although I could swear I’ve read of snake venom passing harmlessly through the digestive tract… and long as you have no internal woulds or ulcers.
It’s more of a “species usage” word. The poison dart frog is poisonous - it’s that color to warn off predators, because if they touch it or eat it they’ll die. The diamondback rattlesnake is venomous, and it uses its venom in defense and to hunt. The poison dart frog has a passive defense system, while the diamondback has an active offensive weapon.
Venomous spines are also passive defence, aren’t they?
And that reference would be… ?
I was waiting for a hairy fishnuts joke, mesself.
Good point (no pun intended.)
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
Specifically, the line “Poison, poison, tasty fish!”
Yes, but it’s not a passive vs active defense distinction. It’s a distinction between something that is injected into you and something that is ingested. A venomous spine injects poison. A poisonous plant or, as in the earlier example, frog, does no such injecting
Seriously, fish have testicles? Where do they keep them? I guess all male critters have some form of testicles, but I never SAW any on a fish. I mean, even while filleting one. What do they look like?
You’ve never heard of fish balls?
Sure they have. Elongated, white or slightly yellowish smooth organs with texture much finer than roe. I saw them many times.
When used as food, fish gonads are called shirako in Japanese. The most common type is cod shirako. Fugu shirako looks like this. Here’s what they look like grilled.
Fish gonads don’t really work like human ones, though. During reproductive season, the gonads fill up with sperm, which is released all at once. You’ll only be able to notice the gonads at the right time of year.
For the record, the texture takes some getting used to but the taste can be quite nice. A lot of westerners have big hang ups about eating the thing, but, really, when you think about it, chicken eggs ought to be pretty gross, too.
What the article fails to mention is that there are several sub-species of fugu. The concentration of tetrodoxin in each body part varies to some extent from one sub-species to another. In most species, gonads are safe to eat. However, part of being a licensed fugu chef is being able to tell which parts of which species are edible.