June 25, 2005

Flying Snakes are a small group of species of tree snakes that live in South and Southeast Asia. They fly by flinging themselves off a high thing, and flattening their whole bodies like some kind of biological streamer. They glide. They can turn in mid-air. They do not have wings. They bite. They can fly up your arse. Ok, I made that last part up, but if you were worried about bats getting in your hair, this is worse.

And you thought it was just the DT's. Really, though, this is bloody awesome, eh? Wrap yer frontal lobes around this lot.

  • Snakes. Snakes that fly, people.
  • I refuse to even click on those links. Ick.
  • That's fucking grand! I recall watching a documentary that had a snippet of these buggers in it. Fascinating! I'd love to train one - have it fly at enemies on-demand... lovely! Cheers Chy
  • >They fly by flinging themselves off a high thing, and flattening their whole bodies ...upon impact. Coincidentally, this is also the way *I* fly.
  • Had they been drinking?
  • *whimper*
  • I have this pet theory that people who live in countries where there are few snakes are those who are most scared by snakes.
  • sceery. I come from a family that was so terrified of snakes, that if one was spotted in our yard, IT HAD TO BE KILLED. I mean, how intense must your loathing of something be that you can overcome the flight mechanism, and go after it with a hoe? Some of the most dramatic moments of my childhood were watching my momma and granny killing snakes. I'm not phobic about snakes, but coming up on one in the wild always freaks me a little.
  • Like having one fall out of a tree onto you isn't bad enough. You could be fifty meters away and still get one in your hair.
  • Any one of us could be engulfed in a flurry of righteous flying snake fury at any moment. I, for one, umm...line?
  • I've had a snake fly out my ass, but never one fly in.
  • Snakes be good. I grew up with snakes, my biology teacher sister who still lived at home had over a hundred snakes in the house.... My last one was a 13 foot Boa, finally donated it to a high school, just got too big! and...let's just figure this out...is it "arse" or is it "ass"? If we could get together on this one word, I think world peace would happen (or is that world piece?)
  • Im so terribly phobic of snakes this is like my worst nightmare.
  • It's 'arse'.
  • I don`t have a phobia of snakes but I was raised around Copperheads and Water Moccasins. You indeed wanted to kill them when you could. If you were to pickup a piece of plywood and saw a nest of baby Copperheads, it`s one of the most frightening things I`ve ever come upon. And the Cottonmouths, in water, will come right up to you, when you are swimming. That`s scary, like Jaws, you panic.
  • HB- there is no escaping the fact that we have fundamental language differences. Nice people don't say it at all, but if they did, they'd say "ass".
  • Whatever the truth may be, there's little doubt that the candir formally known as Vandellia cirrhosa, is capable of attacking humans in the manner described. Pucker Up.
  • Vapidave, I'm not gonna look at a link that forgets basic kindergarten anatomy: the urinary tract and the gastrointestinal tract are separate systems and generally have separate orifices. Actually my 'puter crashed trying to look at it. Fish Tick: I think you'll find it's arse.
  • wasneme, I saw that too and scoffed (alimentary v urinary). Yet the price to pay for ignorance of spiny embed pisseeking catfish warrants paranoia, if not a movie starring John Malkovick as the spiny Urethradwelling snide IRS agent, collecting at will. Sweet Dreams
  • I am not sure that I would say what these snakes do is fly. It sounds more like they are very good at falling.
  • I just watched the mov. files, and now I pretty much just want to hide under my bed for the rest of the day.
  • Snakes like to hide under bedssssssss.
  • Strolling in the jungle just suits me, yes, I like snakes if snakes like me. Oops, a long one's whipping from a tree and it's aiming itself at you and me!
  • You know, a unitard for a flying snake would just be a sock. And many snakes appear to be green.
  • The almight Google deliberates... 1,570,000 for arse [definition]. (0.14 seconds) 14,200,000 for ass [definition]. (0.17 seconds)
  • Well, you know - arse (aers) is the Old English version. The Merkins turned it into 'ass' for their own nefarious purposes. And although most things British often sound more proppah to these ears, I must say that 'arse' sounds very vulgah to me.
  • I nominate the word "bloviate" for sounding like what it means.
  • The search for ass doesn't count as it is also the name for donkey. ARSE.
  • Arse poetica?
  • Bwa-ha-ha!
  • kiss my ass.
  • You ass-people just think "ass" is better because it contains one fewer letter, thus is easier to spell, and is easier to find multiple rhyming words. I would argue that "arse" is clearly superior, for a number of reasons. 1. it does rhyme with farce. 2. the pronunciation varies greatly with geographical location. You can be acceptably rude in any social group. 3. it has several derogatory meanings the finer points of which I am not going to divulge. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. 4. you get more points in Scrabble. Back of the subject of snakes however: snakes are not arse.
  • Kiss my asp?
  • Flying snakes!! I can die a happy woman now.
  • From my all-time top ten jokes (and I've bored the denizens of mofirc with it already): US tourist visits remote Scottish farmhouse one rainy day to find the owner stood in his smokehouse, back to the fire. Above his head hang many hams a-curing. Tourist: Is that your Ayrshire bacon? Farmer: Naw, I'm just warmin' ma hands.
  • Arse. Definitely. And we can't truly be at peace until the related 'Fanny: Arse-or-Vagina?' debate is resolved.
  • well I think the idea of flying snakes is pretty cool, but the day they invent flying spiders I'm offing myself...
  • Rather ironic that the arse/ass debate appears in a thread concerning an animal devoid of one.
  • Beautiful. I love snakes, and since I'll probably never be in a place where one of these can fly at me, the fact that they're flying, biting snakes doesn't bother me. Also, being American, I prefer "ass".
  • Kiss my cloaca!
  • But squid, you're an American (despite not living in Manitoba) - I heard that Americans prefer ass. Cloaca- we've done them already! :-)
  • Where do snakes keep their arses? In a cloaca room! HA HA HA HA HA
  • Har HAR! Good one. *wonders why schools had 'cloakrooms' long after cloaks became extinct*
  • So there was a nearby place in which to incarcerate the evil-doer in a class-room. If ye were shut into one in the darkness (they were often windowless) ye could amuse yourself by reciting poetry or maybe groping around in everyone's overcoat pockets. It was minimally better than being sent to the principal's office, but nothing else can be said in its favour.
  • If you go to spy school, do they have cloak-and-dagger rooms?
  • More on the arse/ass distinction. And comparing fannies!
  • O flying snake, don't fly at me! Do stay curled up in yonder tree! I'm not a tasty sort. I'd make you sick, so turn yourself around and do it quick! You are wondrous zipping through the air but I'll never be your landing-pad, my dear!