1
00:00:06,909 --> 00:00:08,193
Would you rather be bitten

2
00:00:08,193 --> 00:00:11,693
by a venomous snake or touch a poisonous frog?

3
00:00:11,693 --> 00:00:12,943
Wait, what's the difference

4
00:00:12,943 --> 00:00:15,942
between poison and venom, anyway?

5
00:00:15,942 --> 00:00:17,192
Let's say you have the misfortune

6
00:00:17,192 --> 00:00:19,591
to be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake.

7
00:00:19,591 --> 00:00:20,466
When it bites you,

8
00:00:20,466 --> 00:00:21,635
the snake will eject venom

9
00:00:21,635 --> 00:00:22,869
from little sacs behind its eyes,

10
00:00:22,869 --> 00:00:24,943
through its hollow fangs and into your flesh.

11
00:00:24,943 --> 00:00:26,554
That venom will then travel through your bloodstream

12
00:00:26,554 --> 00:00:28,140
and all over your body.

13
00:00:28,140 --> 00:00:30,637
In most cases, snake venom contains neurotoxins,

14
00:00:30,637 --> 00:00:32,728
proteins that can do all sorts of nasty stuff

15
00:00:32,728 --> 00:00:35,441
like make your muscles fire uncontrollably,

16
00:00:35,441 --> 00:00:37,067
burst your blood cells,

17
00:00:37,067 --> 00:00:38,774
and make you go completely numb.

18
00:00:38,774 --> 00:00:40,071
But you might get lucky!

19
00:00:40,071 --> 00:00:41,320
Snakes don't always decide

20
00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:42,525
you're worth wasting venom on.

21
00:00:42,525 --> 00:00:44,358
In fact, between 20 and 80% of snake bites

22
00:00:44,358 --> 00:00:46,108
are so-called "dry bites,"

23
00:00:46,108 --> 00:00:47,524
where the snake is just trying

24
00:00:47,524 --> 00:00:49,943
to send a message without actually killing you.

25
00:00:49,943 --> 00:00:52,108
You see, venom takes energy and resources

26
00:00:52,108 --> 00:00:53,441
for the snake to make,

27
00:00:53,441 --> 00:00:55,712
and they don't want to waste it on a warning shot.

28
00:00:55,712 --> 00:00:56,962
When it comes to poison,

29
00:00:56,962 --> 00:00:58,213
on the other hand,

30
00:00:58,213 --> 00:00:59,506
there's no warning shot.

31
00:00:59,506 --> 00:01:01,217
If you pick up a poisonous dart frog

32
00:01:01,217 --> 00:01:02,858
to admire its beautiful colors,

33
00:01:02,858 --> 00:01:04,608
you've already gotten deadly poison

34
00:01:04,608 --> 00:01:06,888
all over your hands.

35
00:01:06,888 --> 00:01:08,347
As it seeps into your skin

36
00:01:08,347 --> 00:01:09,357
and travels through your blood,

37
00:01:09,357 --> 00:01:11,391
the poison starts to interfere with your nerves,

38
00:01:11,391 --> 00:01:13,606
preventing your muscles from contracting.

39
00:01:13,606 --> 00:01:15,522
If the frog's poison reaches your heart,

40
00:01:15,522 --> 00:01:18,025
it can cause it to stop.

41
00:01:18,025 --> 00:01:19,441
The distinction between venom and poison

42
00:01:19,441 --> 00:01:21,736
is purely in the method of delivery.

43
00:01:21,736 --> 00:01:24,322
Poison has to be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed.

44
00:01:24,322 --> 00:01:27,158
Venom has to be injected into a wound.

45
00:01:27,158 --> 00:01:28,775
Chemically, venoms and poisons

46
00:01:28,775 --> 00:01:30,775
are both considered toxins,

47
00:01:30,775 --> 00:01:32,608
so a snake bite is venomous.

48
00:01:32,608 --> 00:01:35,942
A poison dart frog is poisonous.

49
00:01:35,942 --> 00:01:37,877
Brown recluse spiders are venomous.

50
00:01:37,877 --> 00:01:40,857
Lionfish and pufferfish are poisonous.

51
00:01:40,857 --> 00:01:43,299
And some compounds can be poisons in one animal

52
00:01:43,299 --> 00:01:44,759
and venoms in another.

53
00:01:44,759 --> 00:01:49,014
Tetrodotoxin, a chemical 10,000 times more toxic than cyanide,

54
00:01:49,014 --> 00:01:50,055
is found in pufferfish,

55
00:01:50,055 --> 00:01:51,524
where it makes them poisonous.

56
00:01:51,524 --> 00:01:54,024
It's also found in the deadly blue-ringed octopus,

57
00:01:54,024 --> 00:01:56,353
where it's a venom delivered by bite.

58
00:01:56,353 --> 00:01:59,731
Some animals can even be both poisonous and venomous.

59
00:01:59,731 --> 00:02:01,734
Take the Asian tiger snake, for example.

60
00:02:01,734 --> 00:02:03,570
Not only does it have venom in its fangs

61
00:02:03,570 --> 00:02:05,275
but it also absorbs the toxins

62
00:02:05,275 --> 00:02:07,025
from the poisonous toads it eats,

63
00:02:07,025 --> 00:02:08,576
and then secretes those toxins

64
00:02:08,576 --> 00:02:10,524
from special glands on its neck,

65
00:02:10,524 --> 00:02:12,774
rendering it poisonous, too.

66
00:02:12,774 --> 00:02:14,707
Scientists are constantly finding new animals

67
00:02:14,707 --> 00:02:17,000
that employ toxins in weird, interesting ways.

68
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,543
Recently, researchers discovered

69
00:02:18,543 --> 00:02:20,796
the very first venomous crustacean.

70
00:02:20,796 --> 00:02:22,798
Out of 70,000 species of crustaceans,

71
00:02:22,798 --> 00:02:25,384
only this one little remipede is venomous.

72
00:02:25,384 --> 00:02:27,469
Speleonectes tulumensis has figured out

73
00:02:27,469 --> 00:02:29,300
how to create a cocktail of toxins

74
00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:32,025
that it delivers through its tiny fangs.

75
00:02:32,025 --> 00:02:34,108
Scientists aren't totally sure how this venom works yet,

76
00:02:34,108 --> 00:02:36,774
but they think that it causes the unwitting victims' neurons

77
00:02:36,774 --> 00:02:39,482
to fire over and over and over again

78
00:02:39,482 --> 00:02:41,148
until it becomes paralyzed.

79
00:02:41,148 --> 00:02:42,651
Then, the little remipede closes in,

80
00:02:42,651 --> 00:02:44,858
dissolving away the exoskeleton of its prey

81
00:02:44,858 --> 00:02:46,775
and sucking out the juices.

82
00:02:46,775 --> 00:02:49,943
But poisons and venoms aren't always all bad.

83
00:02:49,943 --> 00:02:51,442
For thousands of years, humans have looked for

84
00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:54,107
ways to harness the power of these toxic compounds for good.

85
00:02:54,107 --> 00:02:55,913
Today, we have all sorts of medicines

86
00:02:55,913 --> 00:02:57,498
that come from toxins.

87
00:02:57,498 --> 00:03:00,127
The poison from cone snails is used as a painkiller.

88
00:03:00,127 --> 00:03:01,753
Many poisonous plants have been used

89
00:03:01,753 --> 00:03:04,547
to treat everything from malaria to irregular heartbeats.

90
00:03:04,547 --> 00:03:06,424
And scorpion venom might one day be used

91
00:03:06,424 --> 00:03:08,275
to treat heart disease.

92
00:03:08,275 --> 00:03:11,386
So, what should you do if something bites or poisons you?

93
00:03:11,386 --> 00:03:13,107
Don't try any of the things you've seen

94
00:03:13,107 --> 00:03:14,766
on the internet or in movies!

95
00:03:14,766 --> 00:03:16,525
Don't try to capture and kill the animal

96
00:03:16,525 --> 00:03:17,686
that bit you,

97
00:03:17,686 --> 00:03:20,647
and don't use a tourniquet or knife on your wound.

98
00:03:20,647 --> 00:03:23,858
Most importantly, don't panic!

99
00:03:23,858 --> 00:03:26,819
Stay calm, and seek medical attention.

100
00:03:26,819 --> 00:03:28,071
Treatment will mostly depend

101
00:03:28,071 --> 00:03:29,942
on what species you encountered.

102
00:03:29,942 --> 00:03:31,406
But if you forget the distinction

103
00:03:31,406 --> 00:03:32,940
between poison and venom,

104
00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:34,192
and tell the parademics

105
00:03:34,192 --> 00:03:35,942
that you were poisoned by a viper,

106
00:03:35,942 --> 00:03:39,538
they'll probably forgive you and treat you anyway.