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 […]
Tag: snake
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 […]
Snake bite suction devices – a (pessimistic) review
What should one do if bitten, say, by a pit-viper? Perhaps make use of a proprietary snakebite venom suction device? Maybe not such a good idea, according to recent research from Professor Sean P. Bush, MD, FACEP, (pictured right, holding a sea-snake) of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Medical […]
Snakebit, Electrified, and Doubly Surprised
The self-inflicted snake/electroshock saga of patient X [pictured below] turns out, 21 years after it entered the public record, to have an earlier chapter that never, until this moment, made it into print. That’s patient X, the former US marine who suffered a bite from his pet rattlesnake. Patient X, the man who immediately after […]