WEBVTT - How Snake Handlers Work 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.160 This episode is brought to you by square Space. Start 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:06.280 building your website today at squarespace dot com and our 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:08.840 offerd code stuff at check out and you will get 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:14.320 ten percent off squar Space. Set your website apart. Welcome 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:17.279 to you Stuff you should know from house Stuff Works 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:26.320 dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.200 and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and there's Jerry over there. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:34.839 And my hair is now a fourth character. Laughed at 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.680 my hair. Everybody, Well, if my beard can be the 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.600 fourth character, your hair could be the fifth. Oh really, yeah, 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.640 we need Actually, Jerry's got great hair. She does have 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:51.400 nice hair, stylish salt and pepper, Amy Goodman level tasteful 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.640 salt and pepper. I'm not sure what that means, Amy 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:57.480 Goodman from Democracy Now, it's very tasteful salt and pepper hair. 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:02.480 Maybe that's the thing. It is clearly between Jerry and 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:07.440 Amy Goodman. It's the thing that beats shoe polish black. Yeah, 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:13.160 you know, like trickling down your forehead. Yeah, but what 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:15.880 makes you happy? You know? Well, sure, if you don't, 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:19.680 whatever makes you feel good, Yeah, I should, Uh, I 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:23.479 should get some of that beer. Blackener and coming into 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:25.880 my beard and come in with like that jet black 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.160 Beard and Clyde Drexeler will show up at your house, 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:34.600 urge you one. But isn't he in the ads? Yeah? Really? 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.880 Former Portland Trailblazer are great. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.319 Clyde Drexeler. Wow, I think I'm gonna have to check 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:43.880 this out. It's him. And who was the one? I 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:45.920 think Keith Hernandez. I was gonna say the one that 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:49.240 Kramer spit on or that got spit that spit on Kramer. 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.320 I think it's Keith Hernandez and Clyde Drexeler. And then 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:58.200 just for men commercial, well there's our freed package. Are 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.160 just for men coming our way now, which we should 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:05.960 say thanks again again to Crown Royal. Man, you say 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:07.840 you like Crown Royal, they send you something, you say, 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:09.240 you drank it, and they send you more. I know, 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.680 it's pretty awesome. I'm brushing my teeth with this stuff now. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.480 My lifestyle is improved for the better. Pretty neat. Thank 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:21.640 you dudes. Uh So, I was just discussing before we 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:23.240 record it. I said, it's going to be hard to 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:28.440 record a show on snake handling, and I'm talking about 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:33.520 the religious aspect of it without sort of like I 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.200 fear for their safety. And I want to say you 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.120 people are crazy. A lot of people do, but um, 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.840 we have a long standing tradition of like to each 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.840 their own. I just you know, I hate seeing people 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:49.080 die from doing something completely preventable. Yeah, you definitely do. 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:52.239 But handling rattlesnakes and kissing them on the face. From 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.960 from what I've seen of this or from what I've researched, 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:58.920 I've not actually seen somebody handle snakes in person. Um, 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:03.200 but from what I've researched, the people who handle snakes 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:09.840 are doing it through total and complete faith. And uh, 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:13.359 there's even if you did judge them, I think it 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:15.240 kind of rolls off their back quite a bit. So 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:19.959 it's not so much judgment. It's just like, no, it's not. 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:23.560 I'm telling you this is what is it my opinion, 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.840 and I'm judging your opinion. Oh that's what you meant 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.640 by its judgment? No, Okay, now it's not judgment. I 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:34.040 just I hate see people get hurt, Nina, uh and die. 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:36.720 Have you ever seen somebody handle snakes? You had a 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:41.960 religious upbringing, Well, yeah, this is rare though. This is Yeah, 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.520 it is Appalachian foothills stuffy, I know, but I mean 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.480 like Atlanta. We're in Georgia. I didn't know if you 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.960 ever took like a field trip or something like there. 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.360 You know that's you have no idea how church works 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:56.560 that there are a lot of field trips. No, I 0:03:56.640 --> 0:04:00.840 got you. In fact, you don't go to other churches. 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.400 You're not supposed to do that. Oh really, yeah, he 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:06.480 stay at your own church. You don't go and field 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.360 trips to other churches? Are there like inner faith banquets 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:13.160 and stuff like that. Yeah, we had a field day right, 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:18.240 all the churches in the county. No, I suppose other 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.320 churches get together with as suppose to. Some gett together 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:24.159 with other churches. But that wasn't my experience. Typically frowned 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:25.880 on in New York. You just keep it in the house. 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.280 Although we would go to the big youth conferences, all 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.719 sorts of youth groups together. That's the field trip. Yeah, 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.520 I'll just kids thrown in the big gymnasiums, struggling to 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:41.920 fight their hormonal urges, going you believe what? So, No, 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.479 I've never done it. I didn't ask if you've done it, 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:47.279 I need. I've never witnessed it. I've never been anywhere 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:50.720 near it. Okay, although I I have a strange feeling, Chuck, 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.200 that it's possible we've both been near it just from 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:57.040 living in Georgia all these years without knowing it. Because yeah, 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:02.560 people who handle snakes um religious. It's actually called um 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:07.800 holiness serpent handling. Is that correct? Uh? Yeah, they say 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.640 serpent instead of snake. Yeah, and it has to be 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:13.640 a venomous snake to be considered a serpent. But for 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:18.440 holiness serpent handling um. Until two thousand and fourteen, it was. 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:21.440 They kept a pretty tight lid on it for many, 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:25.200 many decades. Who the the handlers, Yeah, the people who, um, 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.839 who practice this as part of their religious beliefs. Yeah, 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.400 and I think still even most of them are pretty 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:35.719 media shy. You'll see the occasional interview when someone dies, 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.200 they'll go knocking on the doors and they'll give an 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.280 interview to explain like why they do what they do. 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:42.600 But of course there was a TV show which really, 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:45.480 I mean, you know, you're clearly not media show if 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.719 you're doing a reality show. No, it's it was called 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:51.280 Snake Salvation and sorry not two fourteen, but two thirteen 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.800 it was on nat g O and it was all 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:59.359 about snake handling for religious reasons, and um, one of 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.840 the main eyes on the show ended up dying. He 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:04.280 didn't die on the show, but he died the next 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.120 year from a rattlesnake bite after it went off the air. Yeah, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.440 it was only on for one season. But his name 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:13.280 was Pasty pastor Jamie Coots, and he and another guy 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:19.520 UM named I believe Steven Amblen are They are holiness 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:24.400 serpent handlers who believe in kind of bringing it out 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:29.200 of the shadows and into the Christian mainstream. Good luck. Yeah, 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.360 if you're if you're at all interested in that concept, 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.240 you should read even unto Death. It was in the 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.719 Chettanooga Free Press. It's a pretty good examination of that 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.560 whole movement and those guys in particular. I guess we 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.599 should talk a little bit about other kinds of snake 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.359 handling first though, Yeah, because when you see snake hangler, 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.679 I'm sure when people saw this the title of this episode, 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:54.080 they just assumed we were talking strictly about um religious 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:58.000 snake handling. Now like other people handle snakes as well, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.599 non religious things. Yeah, they're called herpetologists or some of 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.880 them are. These are actually people who study snakes and 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.040 amphibians reptiles, and we talked about them on our Snake 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:12.480 Show and I think we dispelled a lot of rumors, 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.280 uh not rumors, but myths on the Snake Show, which 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.800 come into play when handling snakes, namely that they aren't 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.000 out to kill you. Um, but we'll get to that later. 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:27.960 But people display snakes, well, there's a few different categories 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.680 of people who handle snakes. There's people who display them 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:33.320 Like you drive through Florida, you might see like a 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.320 snake and gator farm where they do snake shows. And 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:38.320 there's a really famous guy we'll talk about a little 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.680 more in depth named Bill Host who is like the 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.840 man when it comes to that boy, let's see yea uh. 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.840 And then there are um, there are people. There are 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:53.160 snake milkers. Of course, there's veterinarians who care for your snakes. Yeah, 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:56.200 which I mean they have to handle snakes. Um. There's 0:07:56.240 --> 0:08:00.120 also rescuing recovery people who come gets a snake in 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:04.320 my basement, right, a guy will show up and um, 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.040 most likely he's professionally trained at the very least you 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.200 would hope that he has a tremendous amount of experience 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.760 in handling snakes. Yeah, and they will show up and 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:14.400 you'll say how much does it cost to get the 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:15.960 snake out of my basement? And they'll say how much 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.600 you got? I'd like to see your last three bank 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:23.440 account statement please. Um. And in those cases they will 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.920 probably you'll probably see what's called an extension tool. Um. 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.480 If you've ever seen those tongs or those long uh, 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.719 they call it a snake cook sort of a just 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:38.000 a long metal not a prode because they're not product. 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.200 Senior adults use it to grab cans off of the 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.840 high shelves in their homes. Yeah, it's like that sort of. 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:52.240 I haven't seen them that actually flex and grab. Yeah. Okay, 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.559 if you got some money, you're gonna spend it on that. 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.240 The ones i've seen are just have a flat uh 0:08:57.559 --> 0:08:59.000 you know, it's a long pole and then it has 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:01.640 like an L shaped uh you know, at a right 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:06.600 angle flat piece coming off that they pin the snake with. Um. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.319 I've read this thing about handling snakes safely for like 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.120 just normal people or people who are starting out in 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.839 the rescue and recovery business. Um. And you can use 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:20.760 just about anything. The key is extension. You want to 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:23.920 put distance between you and the snake. And I want 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:26.719 to say, as a legal disclaimer, I'm not at all 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:30.800 advising anybody to handle a snake. But what I read 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:34.040 was that you want to put as much distance as possible. 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:37.360 So if you have a garden tool and a long one, 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:41.200 use that. But you also would want to use let's 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.360 say you have a hope, you would want to turn 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:47.000 your hole upside down and use these, just the wooden 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:49.760 end to manipulate the snake, because you don't want to 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:52.080 hurt the snake. I just want to get rid of it. Right. 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.079 I relocated a snake from my backyard a couple of 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.080 years ago. What did you use? Use my hands? Oh 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:02.480 my god, it wasn't big. It was, but it wasn't small. 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:08.319 So how did you describe this interaction? Um, I was 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.040 cutting the grass and I saw the snake. It was 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.880 about a foot long. Did you positively identify it as 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:16.240 non lethal or non venomous? Yeah? It was pretty Yeah, 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.760 it was definitely not well. Actually, it had the markings 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.720 where it could have been a copper head. It wasn't 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:24.679 just just like a green snake. Right, So he took 0:10:24.679 --> 0:10:27.640 a shot of whiskey and approached it. I approached it, 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.400 and I did use an implement to um pin it, 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:33.880 but I can't remember what I used. It was something, 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:38.360 you know, blunt and soft. It wasn't you know, an accent, 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:43.360 you know head because like you said, it was you dropping. 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:47.040 What did I use it was? I can't remember. Let's 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:51.560 just say like a wooden paddle. It might have been 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.960 a piece of wood actually. And then I did like 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.120 I saw on the TV shows. I grabbed it behind 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.720 the you know, right behind its head, got a good 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.360 hold bit and picked it up and it wrapped around 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:06.360 my wrist and I went and then I ran across 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.240 the street like pee wee Herman through it in the wood. 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:12.480 Didn't throw it. I've laid it down in the woods, 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.360 into the wood, and it was great. I think it 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.200 was a successful catch and release. It sounds like it 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:21.160 you weren't bitten, Yeah, and I don't. I don't. I'm 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.480 sure I didn't hurt the snake. Good. Yeah, that sounds 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.640 pretty successful. What I was reading in this one UM 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:33.000 article was that you most snakes if you just approached 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:39.880 them calmly. Um, And I guess smoothly is a good 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.520 way to put it. Sure, don't lunge at the snake, right, 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:44.480 and also don't be like, oh my god, oh we're 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:46.560 go ahead, right, just kind of come out the snake 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.080 and pick it up like it's just a stick in 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:53.439 your yard. It's probably not going to strike you, supposedly 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:57.319 according to this website of which I have no affiliation whatsoever. Yeah, 0:11:57.360 --> 0:11:59.680 and I'm not my story. Please do not take that 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:03.800 as that was probably pretty dumb for me to do that. Yeah, 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:06.760 you know, and even if it's non I didn't want it. 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.640 I don't want to get bitten by a snake. I 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.520 don't care if it's venomous or not. One of my 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:16.120 biggest fears is seeing a snake attach its mouth to 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:19.680 my body. It frightens me. Well, I have to say, also, 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:23.840 this site put pretty plainly, do not ever touch a 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:29.160 snake that you haven't positively identified as non venomous, because yeah, 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.600 I mean, if you you could have easily been bitten 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.320 and lost your hand or whatever it was. Well, now 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.520 I could have getten the hospital pretty quickly. Yeah, I mean, 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:42.080 if you're you know, anti vennon works apparently of the 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:46.280 time if it's gotten to in a timely manner. Yes, 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.600 and for the pedants out there, we will say anti 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.560 venom and anti venom because both are acceptable. Yes, they 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:54.800 are alright, So chuck, let's take a break right here. 0:12:54.920 --> 0:13:16.800 Huh it sounds good. Okay, did I say how how 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:19.960 far a snake can strike? No? Do you know? Uh? 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:22.200 But this is what I've got from the same the 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.040 same place that said just go smoothly and casually to 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.800 a snake, introduce yourself. Uh. It says that any snake 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:33.400 greater than four ft can typically strike about one third 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.319 to one half the distance of its body length. That's 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.280 a good rule of thumb. Yeah. Um, A snake between 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.920 one and three ft can strike about one half to 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.400 two thirds its body length, and then a snake underfoot 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:49.120 can usually strike about its whole body length. Okay, I 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.920 would take all those numbers and double them. That's probably 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:53.959 a good idea, just to be safe. Yeah. Of course, 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:55.960 I'm the guy who you know picked up maybe a 0:13:56.000 --> 0:14:00.480 copper head, right man, that's scary stuff. You do the 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.679 same thing. You don't want to pay a guy? Um? Uh, 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:07.600 you probably I would do with this With this site, 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:09.720 what this site was saying was made a lot of 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.120 sense to me. Is like take a take a garbage can, 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:15.360 tip it over on its side, take a shovel, use 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.400 the wooden end of it, the handle it and just 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.560 kind of get it into the can, turn it over, 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.200 put like something on top of the can and then 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:26.120 call somebody. Or you could take the candy, um like 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:28.280 the woods or something that That's probably what I should 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:32.040 have done. In retrospect, I was feeling brave, like those 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.080 shots of whiskey, Like I watched enough Nature TV. All right, 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:38.720 I know how this is done. Um. So the last 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.160 thing that I think we didn't mention is snake milkers, 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:49.040 which snake venom is very valuable. Um one gram. What 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:50.880 you do is you freeze dry it into a powder. 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.480 After you get the liquid, and you sell it to 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:58.080 research labs. Big money, Yeah, one graham. A freeze dried 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:01.240 venom from an exotic snake is can go up to 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.520 five grand, but it might take a hundred milkings to 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:08.960 get that much. So do the math. Yeah, is it 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.600 worth it? Especially if you love hanging out with snakes 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.160 and it's a legit job. You can make you know, 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.920 bucks a month or more as a snake milker easily 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:22.560 depending on how many snakes you have that's right. Um. 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.160 So there are a lot of people that handle snakes, 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.680 but all of them, well, I should say all of 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.600 the people who professionally handle snakes have a rule of thumb, 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:36.160 which is don't get hurt, don't be stupid, because there 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.480 are two ways that snakes can typically get you. Venomous 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:44.160 snakes obviously inject venom, and that's why people milk snakes 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:46.080 is to get that venom so that they can create 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:50.000 anti venom um so that your life can be saved 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.280 if you end up getting bit by a snake, right, um, 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.760 and venom is pretty nasty stuff. I think we did 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.400 one on like what's the most poisonous animal in the world? 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.120 That sounds familiar yea, And we talked a lot about venom, 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:06.760 but it's worth revisiting. Basically, depending on the venom that 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.560 you're injected with, it can cause tissue damage wherever it's spread. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.280 And by tissue damage, I mean just completely wipe out 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.240 your tissue. And if that is blood vessels, your blood 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.760 vessels bleed and you start bleeding internally. If it's a 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.320 your liver or your heart, those things start bleeding internally 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.280 and end up shutting down. You can have multi system, 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:32.840 multi organ failure, paralysis, respiratory um distress, all sorts of 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.680 horrible stuff. If it's on a limb or digit, you 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.080 might lose that even if you get the anti venom 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:42.280 time exactly because it's so thoroughly destroys the tissue right, 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.440 and it causes a lot of pain too. Like I 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:48.760 was reading about the Texas coral snake, it actually has 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:54.560 this um molecule that opens your the gates to your 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.680 pain receptors and just hold them open so that you're 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:03.160 just feeling excruciated, eating unremitting pain. So it's bad stuff. 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.359 So you don't want to get bitten by a snake. 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.480 You also don't want to mess around with constrictors either, 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.439 because they will mess you up as well. Yeah uh 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:16.920 they will, I guess, wrap around you and then suffocates you, 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:20.760 break your back, stop your heart. It's big enough. Sure, 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.159 bad news, bad news. So snakes can be dangerous, is 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.560 the point. Yes, but again, not to feed into that 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:36.159 anti snake. I'm not trying to start a whacking. No. Um. 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:40.840 So getting back to the milkers, Oh yes, sorry, they 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.280 are what's called free handlers. They don't use you would 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:48.800 think like they should just wear anti snake gloves. Um, 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.240 but you need to really feel the snake. Um. I 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:53.840 read an interview with the guy that milks snakes for 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:58.119 living and he's like, no, you gotta feel with your skin. 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.359 The snakes are really fast, and you know, you have 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.640 to react and adjust to every little movement they make. 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.280 And even wearing a glove, even a thin glove, I 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.200 think club wouldn't help anyway, but a chain mail glove 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:12.960 or kevlar glove would not. You wouldn't be able to 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:17.400 feel what's going on anyway. Incidentally, like crush the snake's head. 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:20.760 They're not exactly made of kevlar themselves. That's true. So 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.280 when you're milking a snake, when you're free handling it, 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.400 you basically want to hold it the way you did 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.119 behind the head, right where the jaws meet, using your 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:33.080 thumb and fore finger. Yes, that is correct, and that 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.480 does two things. That keeps the head um from turning 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:41.840 on you. And um, it puts your fingers on the 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.199 in your thumb on those venom glands, which is what 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.159 they you know, they just kind of massage it. Uh. 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:51.480 You can also use electric stimulus electrical stimulation, but the 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.800 traditional way is to just just get a little squeeze 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.399 and it'll milk those little glands. Right, But first before 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.800 you start squeezing, you want to basically we take the 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:04.119 fangs the front. Yeah, you're not like spraying her on 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.840 the room into your hand. You put their fangs through 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.960 a membrane on that's pulled over a jar, and then 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.200 the venom just pumps out of the fangs into the jar. Yeah. 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:22.560 It's really neat looking. It is looking. It is man agreed. Uh. 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:24.919 And they recommend that if you are milking, if you're 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.520 a professional milker, you should have a little buddy with you. Okay, 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.480 something goes wrong. It's not a solo job. Really, anytime 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:37.040 you're handling a snake, there should be more than one person. Um. Well, 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:39.600 you know I didn't. That should have called Emily outside, 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.280 but she wouldn't let me pick up the snake. I 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:45.119 had to keep it quiet. I think I walked up 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:49.800 to hers like, look at this. Yeah, if I'm not mistaken. Um. 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:53.760 And they say for constrictors, they have a little handy 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:57.560 chart as well for at least one person for every 0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:03.000 five feet of snake, unless it's an anaconda or reticulated 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.880 python in case in that case, you want every three 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:10.440 feet of snake because those are very heavy snakes. Females 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.639 can get up to like two hundred pounds, which is 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.760 I saw the Jackass bit the other day again where um, 0:20:18.800 --> 0:20:20.320 I think it might have been in a sequel where 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:25.159 they put it's a python or anaconda and one of 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:28.840 those uh pits of a little red balls that kids 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:31.879 jump in and they, you know, Johnny Knoxville and the 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:35.399 gang get in there, and this thing bites. This huge 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:40.280 thing bites Johnny Knoxville like two or three times. And 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:42.320 thing's got the head the size of a baseball, and 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:47.320 it sounds like a Jackass bit. Hey, hey to Lance Banks, Yeah, 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.679 speaking of Jackass. Yeah, he was one of the filmmakers 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:53.679 behind that, and we had dinner with him in Portland, 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:58.159 very pleasant dinner. So hello Lance, if you're out there listening. Um, 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:00.399 I can't believe that they did that in it was 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:02.480 it was And he kept getting back in, he kept 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:05.200 getting bit. He's bleeding and he keeps getting back in. 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:07.560 I don't know why this isn't ringing a bell. I'm 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:11.199 sure I've seen Jackass two a bunch of times. You know, 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:14.200 plus Chuck, you also want somebody around any time you're 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.639 handling a snake, whether it's a python or a venomu 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:19.639 snake or any snake really, because you want somebody to 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.160 call nine one one if something goes wrong. You want 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:25.160 somebody to be able to drive you to the hospital 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.840 something goes wrong, or um, if a python is trying 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:31.240 to get around you, they can keep the tail from 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:34.800 fully wrapping around. Um. There's a lot of stuff that 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:38.920 an extra person can do, and things go really horribly 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:42.080 awry when that doesn't happen. There was actually a very 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:46.520 famous case not too many years ago of the Venezuelan zookeeper. 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:51.679 I think it was Venezuela, wasn't it. Um? Who was 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:56.680 I think a grad student working as a zookeeper, and 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:01.639 he or she went into a into a I guess 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:07.000 a python's cage, a ten foot for me's python cage 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:13.240 alone during the night shift, and they found there, probably 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:15.160 just to get something or to give it some food, 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:19.199 just something. I'm sure it was something mundane and losing 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:21.920 your life over And they found the person the next 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:25.840 morning like half swallowed by the python. Oh my lord. Um, 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:30.800 which is so you always want somebody around? Yeah, Um, well, 0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:33.879 should we get into the uh, the religious knack handling. 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:37.879 Yeah for sure. All right, well you said it, dude, 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:42.080 It's called holiness serpent handling. And we actually you might 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:46.040 think like, oh, they've done this for millennia um, or 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:50.679 at least since you know, the seventeen eighteen hundreds. No, nope, 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:55.520 we have a definitive start date nineteen ten in Tennessee 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:59.560 the Dolly Pond Church of God in birch Wood, there 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:03.240 was a pre your name George Hensley, and the legend 0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:08.080 is that he was having a faith crisis and was 0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:14.800 reading Mark from the Bible sixteen eighteen thou shalt take 0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:18.040 up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it 0:23:18.080 --> 0:23:23.600 shall not hurt them. Oh, that was a good Appalachian preacher. Um. 0:23:23.640 --> 0:23:26.600 And so he supposedly turned in saw a snake there 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:30.520 and said, I'm gonna take this quite literally. The Bible 0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:32.679 says to take up snakes, so I'm gonna pick it up. 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:34.919 And he picked it up and the snake didn't bite him, 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:37.800 and he said, well, there goes my crisis of faith. 0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:41.240 And apparently George Hensley didn't start out a preacher. He 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:45.320 started out an alcoholic who had trouble keeping work. And 0:23:45.440 --> 0:23:48.560