“Dr. Brennan said the find was so shockingly obvious that she almost fell out of her chair.” —December 14, 2022 report in the New York Times.
Tag: snake
Scary animals : a new classification [study]
Scary animals, a new study reveals, can be separated into five distinct clusters : “(1) non‐slimy invertebrates; (2) snakes; (3) mice, rats, and bats; (4) human endo‐ and exoparasites (intestinal helminths and louse); and (5) farm/pet animals. However, only snakes, spiders, and parasites evoke intense fear and disgust in the non‐clinical population.” The diagram below […]
A Person Who Swallowed a Snake Whole (But Died)
This new study, describing a now-long-dead person who ate a snake whole, is reminiscent of the Ig Nobel Prize-winning study about swallowing a shrew. The new study is: “Analysis of a coprolite from Conejo Shelter, Texas: Potential ritualistic viperous snake consumption,” Elanor M. Sonderman, Crystal A. Dozier, Morgan F. Smith, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, […]
Finding yet another snake with Pablo
Here’s another episode in the dramatic, true series “Finding Snakes with Pablo” (a subset of the series “The Brain Scoop“, from the Field Museum in Chicago). This episode: Fer-de-lance:
Snake Bites a Frequently-Metaphorical Snake
We reproduce only a portion of the image for this medical report. To see the full image, follow the link to the NEJM site. “A Viper Bite,” Tajamul Hussain [pictured here] and Rafi A. Jan, New England Journal of Medicine [NEJM], vol. 373, no. 11, September 10, 2015. The authors, at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical […]
Curious twists of boids
Willard discoursed about how certain snakes, including boids, coil around prey: “Constricting Methods of Snakes,” Daniel E. Willard, Copeia, 1977, vol. 1977(2), pp. 379-382. “Geometry limits to four the ways a snake can coil around its prey: venter toward the prey, dorsum toward the prey, left lateral side toward the prey and right lateral side […]
Ouroboros meets Artificial Intelligence
If you’ve examined The Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld , you’ll know that the mythical creature Ouroboros was a snake-like being traditionally depicted in the act of swallowing its own tail. The inherent symbolism of Ouroboros’s circularity has recently been adopted by the Artificial Intelligence fraternity – specifically by Dr. Knud Thomsen of the Paul […]
Behold the evasive leap behavior of a spooked squirrel
“This video shows a series of clips of ground squirrels responding to a spring-loaded device that uncoils toward them at the same velocity at which rattlesnakes strike,” writes Rulon Clark of San Diego State University. Clark adds: All responses are shown slowed down to one-quarter regular speed. Squirrels either scrambled away from the spring (first set […]
The sound of the contrabass serpent
The Edinburgh University collection of historic musical instruments houses what is believed to be the oldest surviving contrabass serpent. It’s called ‘Anaconda’ and was made by Joseph and Richard Wood, of Huddersfield, UK c.1840. It’s pitched in 16-ft C, a full octave below a standard serpent, which only manages a comparatively lightweight 8-ft C. The […]
The smell of macaroni [part 1: snakes]
Q. Are garter snakes attracted to the smell of macaroni? A. Probably not, in general – though things can change dramatically if it’s coated in frog skin mucus. The picture shows a checkered garter snake (Thamnophis marcianus) enthusiastically attacking a macarono which has a light coating of frog skin mucus sauce. See:Identification and Characterization of […]