# What to do if a Crocodile Bites your Head **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694 "2021-01-28T15:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/1 "2021-01-28T15:33:26Z")
> [@](#): > > A “remarkably lucky” Australian man who forced a crocodile off his head by prizing open its jaws with his bare hands has managed to escape with minor injuries, paramedics said. > > The 44-year-old Queensland man fought off the creature while swimming at Lake Placid, near Cairns, on Thursday. > > He had puncture wounds on each side of his face but was “very, very calm” when healthcare workers arrived to treat him. > > “A crocodile had bitten his head, and in his effort to remove the jaws of the crocodile he put his hands in to try and prize the jaws apart,” paramedic Paul Sweeney told reporters in Cairns. “In the process of trying to remove his hands, the jaws snapped shut on his forefinger. He’s a remarkably lucky gentleman.” [https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/australia/australia-crocodile-attack-queensland-scli-intl/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/australia/australia-crocodile-attack-queensland-scli-intl/index.html) (Discourse is suggesting that this is similar to “Would you vote for a crocodile-headed man?”) > [@Would you vote for a crocodile-headed man?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-vote-for-a-crocodile-headed-man/340619): > > If a candidate were running for president who spoke intelligently and eloquently, dressed respectably, and held the same position on issues that you have, but had the head of a crocodile, would you vote for him? From the neck down he’s totally normal, he just has a head which looks exactly like the head of a crocodile. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=354675](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=354675) wink ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/2 "2021-01-28T16:32:09Z")
The wild creatures of Australia are world famous for their top rank placement in fierceness and lethality. And are duly pwned by an ordinary Australian human. Maybe we should import a dozen or two to this country to restore order. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/3 "2021-01-28T16:44:37Z")
Life imitates Art! > **[Lake Placid (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Placid_(film))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Lake Placid is a 1999 American comedy horror film written by David E. Kelley and directed by Steve Miner. It is the first installment in the Lake Placid film series and stars Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White, Meredith Salenger, and Mariska Hargitay. In the film, a giant, 30-foot-long monstrous saltwater crocodile terrorizes the fictional location of Black Lake, Maine, the film also follows a dysfunctional gro... ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/4 "2021-01-28T16:48:06Z")
Never heard of “prizing off” jaws. Was that suppose to be prying? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/5 "2021-01-28T16:48:46Z")
It’s a UK/Commonwealth-ism. Same meaning though. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/6 "2021-01-28T16:50:18Z")
Googling that phrase just leads to a bunch of links about this particular story, nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/7 "2021-01-28T16:55:00Z")
> **[Pry vs Prize - What's the difference?](https://wikidiff.com/pry/prize)** > > As verbs the difference between pry and prize is that pry is to look where one is not welcome; to be nosey or pry can be to use leverage to open or widen (see also prise and prize) w... ---
**Author:** ![FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendlycurmudgeon/32/5786_2.png) [@FriendlyCurmudgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendlyCurmudgeon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/8 "2021-01-28T17:01:00Z")
All the other crocodiles " Did you hear about Dave, he had a meal all good to go and he blew it" [insert ridicule from all the other crocodiles] If it was an adult croc surprised he was able to free himself, If I’m not mistaken they have a stronger bite force than a tiger shark . ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/9 "2021-01-28T17:10:15Z")
My semi-bad. The UK / Commonwealth spelling for pulling something open/apart is “prise” not “prize.” > UK: They utilised a spanner to prise open the boot. > US: They utilized a wrench to pry open the trunk. There are umpteen words in English that the US spellings ending in “ize” whereas the UK/commonwealth spelling ends the same word in “ise”. I fell for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/10 "2021-01-28T17:12:38Z")
That croc must not have been terribly hungry. A good “death roll” (see below, not for squeamish) would have probably broken the guy’s neck and guaranteed the croc a complete dinner. [Alligator Deathroll - YouTube](https://youtu.be/gAY2SXpUCwU?t=18) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/11 "2021-01-28T17:13:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > (Discourse is suggesting that this is similar to “Would you vote for a crocodile-headed man?”) Well… on this occasion, discourse has a point. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/12 "2021-01-28T17:47:37Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Well… on this occasion, discourse has a point. Does it? I’d probably be willing to vote for a guy this tenacious and resourceful, but only because he DIDN’T have a crocodile on his head. Reminds me of that strip from the last days of the original run of _Bloom County_ where you can’t see Milo’s head because it’s inside a python. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/13 "2021-02-01T09:55:07Z")
Would you vote for this guy? [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/StarTrek-Gorn.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/StarTrek-Gorn.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/14 "2021-02-01T13:27:49Z")
Depends who he’s running against. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-if-a-crocodile-bites-your-head/931694/15 "2021-02-01T14:41:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > There are umpteen words in English that the US spellings ending in “ize” whereas the UK/commonwealth spelling ends the same word in “ise”. I fell for that one. Interestingly, in British English, both endings are often valid for those words (with ~ise just being favoured)