Adder

October 2, 2012 8:31 AM

The 'Coral Snake Venon' post is featured over at the New Statesmen
posted by fearfulsymmetry to MetaFilter-Related at 8:31 AM (21 comments total)

Thus publicizing our bad spelling ("Venon," "anti-venin") and why we need a post edit window, too.
posted by beagle at 8:49 AM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not a bad link and congratulations to maxwelton for the bump. However, Mr. Hern seems content to accept the talking points of both sides (It could be both sides, who knows?). I don't think there's any shame in NS running a linkblog and not having to put a few hundred words around an issue it's not prepared to investigate fully.
posted by boo_radley at 8:55 AM on October 2, 2012

I take it back — apparently anti-venin is an acceptable alternative spelling. Should've used my own edit window.
posted by beagle at 9:02 AM on October 2, 2012

We totally need a "take it back" window. I'm thinking a little "recant" button next to each comment you make, and when clicked it adds the following line to the end of your comment:

Sorry, I was wrong. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It works for up to 1 day after the comment is made; after that, it's your final opinion, sorry bub.
posted by ericost at 9:09 AM on October 2, 2012 [18 favorites]

So, I learned "red next to black, you're okay Jack, red next to yellow you're a dead fellow" from the original post. Then I look at the picture on the New Statesmen and think- wait, they built an article around a pre-existing post and they didn't even get a picture of the right snake?

But then I read the wikipedia article and it turns out the red next to yellow thing only holds true for North American snakes, and the picture is purportedly of a Peruvian snake. You know what? I'm just going to leave any red, black, and yellow snake alone.
posted by Secretariat at 9:19 AM on October 2, 2012 [11 favorites]

When I take my magic act on the stage, I'm definitely going with the name "Dai Venom".
posted by DU at 9:40 AM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Out of curiosity, is Mr. Hern a mefite?
posted by zarq at 9:51 AM on October 2, 2012

You know what? I'm just going to leave any red, black, and yellow snake alone.

Sensible problem-solving like this is why I married you.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:02 AM on October 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Are you from Enumclaw, cortex?

(I tried and tried and tried to determine whether there was a difference between "antivenom" "antivenin" and any hyphenated mixes of the two. Most "expert" sites I read used the spelling I ended up using. Have no idea if there's actually a technical difference between them among experts.)
posted by maxwelton at 12:20 PM on October 2, 2012

You know what? I'm just going to leave any red, black, and yellow snake alone.

Batesian mimicry for the win!
posted by endless_forms at 1:34 PM on October 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

"You know what? I'm just going to leave any red, black, and yellow snake alone."

Thanks, Secretariat! I just knew there'd be someone who spoke right up and settled this "Red to yellow, kill a fellow" that is etched deep into my lizard brain. As soon as I saw that picture, I had the same clamoring in my head. Just think, all this time I could have been having the wild imaginings about king snakes--or any colored snake--actually being Peruvian coral snakes or European ones or something, brought into this country illegally and escaped into the wild. I might have seen one and not even have known it! Shudder!
posted by Anitanola at 1:47 PM on October 2, 2012

I find leaving any snake alone is general good policy.

I like them, I respect them but they are sneaky bastards.
posted by edgeways at 2:12 PM on October 2, 2012

"...but you knew that I was a snake when you decided to french kiss me", as the old folk tale goes.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:20 PM on October 2, 2012

"...but you knew that I was a snake when you decided to french kiss me"

From the privately printed volume of the Child Ballads: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume XI: Unreleased B-Sides.
posted by catlet at 2:30 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is there a coral cache in case the it goes down?
posted by Eideteker at 3:14 PM on October 2, 2012

If you happen to live in Houston, there are a ton of these bastards in Memorial Park, especially the south side (bike trails). I HATE SNAKES.
posted by Brittanie at 3:54 PM on October 2, 2012

as the old folk tale goes
Actually… Hausa Tales and Traditions: Being a translation of Frank Edgar's Tatsuniyoyi Na Hausa

Says the snake 'Farmer, please hide me.' 'Where shall I hide you?' said the farmer, and the snake said 'All I ask is that you save my life.' The farmer couldn't think where to put the snake, and at last bent down and opened his anus, and the snake entered.

posted by unliteral at 5:26 PM on October 2, 2012

Farmer Emmerich went into his barn
And found a cow suckling a serpent
And a brown ape clanking a heavy chain
Said Farmer Emmerich to the ape
Never ask me to come into this barn again
posted by homunculus at 8:52 PM on October 2, 2012

And the little red hen ate the bread all by herself.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:22 AM on October 3, 2012

'Round here, the only venomous snakes to worry about are rattlers and copperheads, and they're both pretty easy to tell from the other locals.

Otherwise, most of my experience with snakes involves rescuing little green garden snakes from my cats. They go limp; the cats bat them around a little and bring them in to demonstrate hunting prowess; I pick them up and toss them back in the garden, apparently unharmed. I figure it's the garden snake version of alien abductions.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:34 AM on October 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ewww, the only thing worse than a skunk is a stinky garden (garter) snake! That smell's impossible to wash off your hands.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:21 PM on October 3, 2012