# Oh Discovery Channel, how low you've fallen
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 7, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993 "2014-11-07T16:39:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/1 "2014-11-07T16:39:35Z")
The first thing I thought when I read this was "This can’t be real, what idiot dreamed up this idea?? If this isn’t a joke, then where are they going to find a [snake big enough to swallow a man whole](https://tv.yahoo.com/news/anaconda-to-swallow-man-whole-on-discovery-special--eaten-alive--161802086.html)? How are they going to get the snake to just eat this guy on command? If they are serious about this, the snake will probably just attempt to swallow the guy and give up part way, no way is it getting his whole body in there. And even if it succeeds, then what? They have to kill the snake right? This is just all kinds of stupid
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### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/2 "2014-11-07T16:40:47Z")
They already fell pretty hard when they did the fake mermaid and sasquatch crap.
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### Author:  [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/3 "2014-11-07T17:49:52Z")
Catching and transporting such an animal will be challenging.
Finding enough people to keep it fed will be a bitch.
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### Author:  [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/4 "2014-11-07T17:51:52Z")
You’re wrong. That’s awesome.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/5 "2014-11-07T18:26:04Z")
Still quite a ways to go before they reach other channels under their umbrella. Hasn’t been much Learning going on with TLC in this century.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/6 "2014-11-07T18:26:23Z")
How is this not cruelty to animals?
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/7 "2014-11-07T18:44:56Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Hasn’t been much Learning going on with TLC in this century.
Not too much that’s either Art or Entertaining on A&E either.
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### Author:  [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/8 "2014-11-07T18:53:34Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Still quite a ways to go before they reach other channels under their umbrella. Hasn’t been much Learning going on with TLC in this century.
I remember watching Connections (1, 2, and 3) with James Burke on TLC. Now they have “Extreme Couponing.” How the mighty have fallen.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/9 "2014-11-07T18:59:16Z")
Anacondas are constrictors, aren’t they? Was his suit intended to protect him from being squeezed to death? I don’t believe for one minute that an anaconda can eat an adult male, but humans have been constricted to death by snakes. It doesn’t even take one as large as an anaconda. People have been constricted by pet pythons measuring as small as 12 feet long or less.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/10 "2014-11-07T19:04:51Z")
They reached the bottom with their Megalodon “mockumentary”, in which the tiny disclaimer that it was fictionalized was so well-hidden that nearly everyone thought it was true.
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### Author:  [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/11 "2014-11-07T19:05:41Z")
Eventually all networks will be nothing but reality shows. Network decay is inevitable.
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### Author:  [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/12 "2014-11-07T19:07:49Z")
See, everyone’s down on the idea of this show, but than follows up with a bunch of questions that could be answered by…watching the show. Sounds like making Discoveries to me.
I’d be happy if there was more of this kind of stupid animal tricks on TV, and less reality TV and supernatural schlock.
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### Author:  [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/13 "2014-11-07T19:09:57Z")
> [@KCB615](#):
>
> I remember watching Connections (1, 2, and 3) with James Burke on TLC. Now they have “Extreme Couponing.” How the mighty have fallen.
Go check out the short miniseries “How We Got To Now” that’s partway through it’s run on PBS/BBC – very much in the spirit of the old “Connections” series, though shorter and with a somewhat less charismatic host.
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/14 "2014-11-07T19:12:55Z")
> [@KCB615](#):
>
> I remember watching Connections (1, 2, and 3) with James Burke on TLC. Now they have “Extreme Couponing.” How the mighty have fallen.
Please don’t tell me it’s worse than Honey Boo-Boo! :eek:
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### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/15 "2014-11-07T19:14:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> How is this not cruelty to animals?
Hey, they’ll cover him with ketchup first.
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### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/16 "2014-11-07T19:23:17Z")
Actually they say they are going to cover him with pig’s blood.
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### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/17 "2014-11-07T19:23:18Z")
> [@jtur88](#):
>
> They reached the bottom with their Megalodon “mockumentary”, in which the tiny disclaimer that it was fictionalized was so well-hidden that nearly everyone thought it was true.
No one over the age of 7 thought it was true.
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/18 "2014-11-07T19:29:00Z")
What stands out to me about this show that differs from the other ones is that the others were fake fluff, but no different from a lot of other programming. This stunt, if successful, seems to be cruel and may well result in the death of the animal. I don’t particularly like snakes, but I do have a problem with feeding it fake food and then possibly killing it.
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### Author:  [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/19 "2014-11-07T19:30:48Z")
You think they’ve hit the floor and that’s as far as you can fall, then they go down a flight of steps.
People say a snake can’t swallow a person because we are too wide at the hips and shoulders. Thing is, even if a snake couldn’t outright crush the bones I would think they could squeeze enough to dislodge the bones until they are thin enough to go down.
Which would still leave the skull as the limiting factor. Or so I would theorize.
I saw this guy on the news and he claims to be a friend to snakes and would never harm one.
He also has a special suit like that guy that wanted to go into a bear den.
I guess he just wanted to see what snake hugs are like.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/20 "2014-11-07T20:39:45Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> Go check out the short miniseries “How We Got To Now” that’s partway through it’s run on PBS/BBC – very much in the spirit of the old “Connections” series, though shorter and with a somewhat less charismatic host.
I liked this series until the “Cold” episode. There was an awful lot of fluff, showbiz costume vignettes, verbal padding, telling us what they were about to tell us next, and so forth; there was very little actual information. Given that the focus of the episode was how refrigeration, and then air conditioning changed the world forever, I didn’t hear one word about HOW refrigeration works.
Very disappointing.
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