Well, I’m never leaving my house now. Thanks, Nova!
Tonight’s episode was about people who collect deadly venom in order to create anti-venom or medicines to fight diseases. So lots of close ups of fangs or needle-like protrusions as well as the nasty venom results on humans. Plus a poor strapped down mouse who was pumped full of Box Jellyfish venom. Thankfully, the experimental venom blocker saved the poor little guy’s life but geez.
Yeah, Box Jellyfish might possibly be the most venomous creature on Earth. Each tentacle contains thousands of needles that shoot venom into what comes in contact with it. According to Nova, that venom can take down an adult man within five to twenty minutes. Apparently, the venom causes the red blood cells to swell and tear so that the hemoglobin leaks and no oxygen is carried throughout the body. Yay!
I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the re-enactment actress who had to act like she was stung by a jelly fish and then had to crawl onto the beach.
The episode also highlighted the OG of the venom world: the snake. There was this doctor named Zolton (!) who would walk through the jungles of Vietnam and yell, “Snake!” and get all excited. I wish I could describe his accent but just imagine him saying, “Snake! Cousin Larry, don’t be ridiculous!”
I would like to take this opportunity to admit that I’ve never seen one single episode of Perfect Strangers…and yet I know Balki’s famous line.
I have to admit that I liked the Brown Recluse Spider Lady. She’s trying to isolate the venom of a particular brown recluse that causes the human skin to self-destruct. She uses the phrase “vomit vacuum” in relation to the venom milking. I liked that. She says she’s never been bitten but of all people she deserved to be with how much she handles them. Yeah, let me just say how appalled I was over these venom collectors and their lack of protective hand wear. Only the Cone Snail Guy used thick gloves when handling the underwater snails because they have eyelash-sized harpoons that inject paralyzing venom into its victims. As a casual aside, the show mentioned that the venom of the cone snail had been researched by Homeland Security as a possible bio weapon. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
All of this venom-collecting has led to some helpful discoveries. A part of the cone snail venom could be a painkiller more powerful than morphine. Synthetic snake venom led to the development of the ACE inhibitor for high blood pressure. However, all this has led to me being more paranoid than ever before.
What else did I learn from Venom: Nature’s Killers? The Blue Ringed Octopus is about the size of a golf ball. Many of the most venomous creatures live in the water. A variety of the brown recluse spider came to California from South America in the 1950s by hitching a ride inside a cargo of Shakespearean costumes. Out! Out! Damned Cell Bursting Poison!
