Slightly related to the mailbag article:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msnakekill.html
In the September Scientific American, there’s a short article on how some people have been bitten by venomous snakes that they thought they’d killed.
I quote one small part of the article:
It’s not quite as impressive as the myth that a decapitated snake will live until sundown, but it is an interesting factoid at least.
Of course I don’t fit in; I’m part of a better puzzle.
Aura ,that brought back to mind the famous “Fang in the Boot” tale and the “Scientist Killed by the Preserved in Formaldehyde Snake Head” Fangs for the memories.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
That was a bad pun! Boo, hiss!
Well, I haven’t read the article, but based on the snippet you provided, I question the accuracy of what I just quoted. I think it’s more likely that the guy had killed the snake, and the fact that he got stuck with a fang when he picked it up was his own fault.
Did the article give any more details on that particular incident?
Rich
The point of the article is that the snake’s reflexes remain operational, even after the rest of the life functions cease. It’s similar to the way a chicken can move around after its head has been cut off.
So in the incident I quoted, the guy didn’t just poke himself with the fangs by accident. A self-defense reflex triggered, and the dead snake bit him.
Of course I don’t fit in; I’m part of a better puzzle.
The point of the article is that the snake’s reflexes remain operational, even after the rest of the life functions cease. It’s similar to the way a chicken can move around after its head has been cut off.
So in the incident I quoted, the guy didn’t just poke himself with the fangs by accident. A self-defense reflex triggered, and the dead snake bit him.
Of course I don’t fit in; I’m part of a better puzzle.
Okay, that double post was not my fault. The MB claimed I had a bad password the first time.
I have been advised by a veterinarian who specializes in “exotics” that extreme care must be taken with dead venomous snakes because “nervous reflex” remains for quite a while after death.
I personally do not expect to put this advice to use, preferring to leave venmous snakes to the professionals and =very= experienced amateurs.
MomCat