Unutterably Silly Quiz

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by orlok

The Stone Fish?

Nope. Dangerous, but not such a killer. (Ugly critters too! This one was easy to spot as he was sitting on a sandy bottom. Usually much harder to see. They are a good reason NOT to walk barefoot in the sea!


Stitchawl

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

A two-parter: What marine creature has the most deadly venom. (Note: NOT which marine creature is responsible for the most human deaths! Ergo, not the Box Jellyfish or Blue Ring Octopus.)

Why are there so few deaths resulting from this creature?

I have vague memories of something called a Cone Shell that was supposed to be very poisonous.

Presumably there are few deaths from whatever it is because its habitat doesn't bring it into contact with humans very often.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I have vague memories of something called a Cone Shell that was supposed to be very poisonous.

And that's a fact! Really nasty, painful wounds from that creature. Often fatal to smaller folks. Pick up the pretty shell, it whips out a long thin barbed stinger and nails you on the hand with a neurotoxic venom.

Presumably there are few deaths from whatever it is because its habitat doesn't bring it into contact with humans very often.

That's the one saving grace. And it doesn't move faster than a snail, which is pretty much what it looks like (although longer rather than rounder,) and you have to pick one up to get stung by it. Divers are taught early in our classes never to touch ANYTHING underwater... Although people do die from Coneshell poisoning, there are several creatures with much more deadly venom in the sea....


Stitchawl

[WT Sharpe]

Sea serpents? They're more toxic than any land serpent, but few die because few are bitten. They are normally non-aggressive.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Sea serpents? They're more toxic than any land serpent, but few die because few are bitten. They are normally non-aggressive.

Most of the 'large' (read: ship-swallowing sized) Sea Serpents are non-venomous, but you're actually right on the money!

The creature with the most deadly venom is the Coral Snake! But for two reasons, few die. One, they are non-aggressive, as you say. And two, they have such a teeny tiny mouth, just about the only part of a human they can bit is the web of skin between the thumb and forefinger. Little children are the usual victims of Coral Snake bites, grabbing them in tidal pools and getting bitten on the pinkie finger!

Take it away, Tom!


Stitchawl

[WT Sharpe]

I've seen a video of one of these 'non-aggressive' snakes attacking a diver. He got away, but it goes to show that individual snakes can break from the norm in the behaviors they display. I remember reading of some zoo officials who said one in a hundred rattlesnakes had a disposition that would make them a good pet. The trick is to know which one.

Be back in a minute with a question. (I didn't expect to win.)

[WT Sharpe]

This should be easy, because there's nothing I know that someone here doesn't.

Answer the following questions about the two men pictured below:

• Who are these guys?
• What are they arguing about?
• Are those Oberon covers on their iPads?

[Iznogood]

Socrates and Plato?
Socrates says it's gonna rain vertically (straight down), Plato that the wind will make it rain horisontally. Both are wrong since it's a clear day (see the sky behind them). But the old greeks didn't bother looking at facts; they were thinking, therefore they were philosophers.
But of course they covered their books in skin (or leather) to prevent the rain from harming them. And it's not ipads since everyone knows ipads are thinner than that

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Iznogood

Socrates and Plato?
Socrates says it's gonna rain vertically (straight down), Plato that the wind will make it rain horisontally. Both are wrong since it's a clear day (see the sky behind them). But the old greeks didn't bother looking at facts; they were thinking, therefore they were philosophers.
But of course they covered their books in skin (or leather) to prevent the rain from harming them. And it's not ipads since everyone knows ipads are thinner than that

Jeez! How do you guys figure these out so quickly? I was trying to remember if the Rain in Spain was the same as the rain in Greece...


Stitchawl

[WT Sharpe]

Hold on, there. It's NOT Socrates and Plato, but you are correct that those aren't iPads. They were early generation HP laptops and were heavy as hell.

[Iznogood]

The rain in Spain stays on the Spanish plains - it doesn't go to Greece

[Iznogood]

Then it must be Aristoteles and Plato. I know that Plato is in that picture.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Iznogood

Then it must be Aristoteles and Plato. I know that Plato is in the picture

You are correct, sir. It is indeed Plato and his student Aristotle. Now, what were they arguing about? (It wasn't the weather.)

[Stitchawl]

Wow! Was I off! I thought it was the Smith Bros., of cough drop fame arguing between cherry flavor or licorice.


Stitchawl

[Iznogood]

The argument is about some law of physics or another, I can't remember. This picture, The School of Athens, hung on a wall where I went to high school. Or rather, a copy of it hung on the wall there. I should have paid more attention to the teachers and less to the girls.