The Night Mail

[monkeysarefun]

11 hours ago, Craigw said:

People usually prefer to let a Funnel web try to catch a brick or very large rock.

 

As opposed to the Huntsman. If you tell most people here that you saw a huge Huntsman in your house and you killed it you may as well have told them you shot Bambis mum.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Does this mean the Big Beary Boots (steel toecap safety boots, to be precise....), Wire Brush or Blow Torch treatment is off limits?

 

Just askin' for a friend....

Only if it's Crimson Lake in colour and it's got a 'y' in its name.

[Craigw]

Just now, monkeysarefun said:

 

As opposed to the Huntsman. If you tell most people here that you saw a huge Huntsman in your house and you killed it you may as well have told them you shot Bambis mum.

 

I am the person at work who gets called to relocate the spiders and lizards that people find :)

 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyID]

9 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

That'll teach you to try and print out Clapham Junction in one continuous run!

 

It was even that difficult. It was just the old Newcastle-Upon-Tyne layout.

[AndyID]

Spiders in these parts are not very nasty but the Black Widows in Arizona can be pretty bad. On one occasion I got nailed by a spider while I was cleaning out the surface filter for our pool but I think it was just a Wolf Spider and it turned out to be harmless though it did give me a quite a scare.

[iL Dottore]

Contemplating the discussion regarding spiders, I note that we’ve only barely touched upon the subject of venoms, poisons and toxins (not literally, thankfully).

 

Venoms, poisons and toxins are incredibly fascinating - especially venoms like snake venoms or poisons like those found in the poison-dart frog. Mainly because they are incredibly rich stews of assorted proteins, enzymes and complex organic chemicals - any one of which in itself could be/would be lethal. And yet, as hazardous as they are to human health, they are also a rich source of biological compounds that could be mined (and have been) for molecules to serve as the basis of treatment for serious human disease.

 

Surprisingly, spider venom is fairly low on the list of lethal animals (https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-most-venomous-animals-on-earth-ranked/32/).

 

How lethal something is is rated by its LD50: the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. The smaller the dose, the more dangerous (and lethal) it is. Compounds produced by bacteria (Botulinum toxin: LD50 of 1.5–2.0 ng/kg), frogs (batrachotoxin: LD50 of 2000 ng/kg) and plants (Ricin: LD50 22.000 ng/kg) are much nsstier than anything produced by spiders - so PB has little to worry about. See 

https://chemistryhall.com/most-dangerous-chemicals/)

Of all the substances on that list from ChemistryHall, Botulinum toxin definitely is the most scary, especially as it is estimated that one gram of this toxin can kill more than one million people!

 

And on a lighter note: at the other end of the scale are cheap tinned baked beans with a (iD estimated) LD50 of about 10kg/kg. As nasty as they are, you’d probably stlll be better off bludgeoning someone to death with the tins of beans rather than to trying to poison them by feeding them the cheap tinned baked beans on a pizza or toast 🤣🤣🤣

[polybear]

28 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Contemplating the discussion regarding spiders, I note that we’ve only barely touched upon the subject of venoms, poisons and toxins (not literally, thankfully).

 

Venoms, poisons and toxins are incredibly fascinating - especially venoms like snake venoms or poisons like those found in the poison-dart frog. Mainly because they are incredibly rich stews of assorted proteins, enzymes and complex organic chemicals - any one of which in itself could be/would be lethal. And yet, as hazardous as they are to human health, they are also a rich source of biological compounds that could be mined (and have been) for molecules to serve as the basis of treatment for serious human disease.

 

Surprisingly, spider venom is fairly low on the list of lethal animals (https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-most-venomous-animals-on-earth-ranked/32/).

 

How lethal something is is rated by its LD50: the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. The smaller the dose, the more dangerous (and lethal) it is. Compounds produced by bacteria (Botulinum toxin: LD50 of 1.5–2.0 ng/kg), frogs (batrachotoxin: LD50 of 2000 ng/kg) and plants (Ricin: LD50 22.000 ng/kg) are much nsstier than anything produced by spiders - so PB has little to worry about. See 

https://chemistryhall.com/most-dangerous-chemicals/)

Of all the substances on that list from ChemistryHall, Botulinum toxin definitely is the most scary, especially as it is estimated that one gram of this toxin can kill more than one million people!

 

And on a lighter note: at the other end of the scale are cheap tinned baked beans with a (iD estimated) LD50 of about 10kg/kg. As nasty as they are, you’d probably stlll be better off bludgeoning someone to death with the tins of beans rather than to trying to poison them by feeding them the cheap tinned baked beans on a pizza or toast 🤣🤣🤣

 

Bear never knew a Platypus, Catfish or Snail could be such thoroughly evil 'sterds.....😱

[Erichill16]

On 24/08/2024 at 04:15, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

This one - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as he was named, held the title there a couple of years ago but I think Hercules which was donated in January this  year currently has the record.

 

I’m wondering if the wording that can be seen is referring to the dish or its contents.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Contemplating the discussion regarding spiders, I note that we’ve only barely touched upon the subject of venoms, poisons and toxins (not literally, thankfully).

 

Venoms, poisons and toxins are incredibly fascinating - especially venoms like snake venoms or poisons like those found in the poison-dart frog. Mainly because they are incredibly rich stews of assorted proteins, enzymes and complex organic chemicals - any one of which in itself could be/would be lethal. And yet, as hazardous as they are to human health, they are also a rich source of biological compounds that could be mined (and have been) for molecules to serve as the basis of treatment for serious human disease.

 

Surprisingly, spider venom is fairly low on the list of lethal animals (https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-most-venomous-animals-on-earth-ranked/32/).

 

How lethal something is is rated by its LD50: the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. The smaller the dose, the more dangerous (and lethal) it is. Compounds produced by bacteria (Botulinum toxin: LD50 of 1.5–2.0 ng/kg), frogs (batrachotoxin: LD50 of 2000 ng/kg) and plants (Ricin: LD50 22.000 ng/kg) are much nsstier than anything produced by spiders - so PB has little to worry about. See 

https://chemistryhall.com/most-dangerous-chemicals/)

Of all the substances on that list from ChemistryHall, Botulinum toxin definitely is the most scary, especially as it is estimated that one gram of this toxin can kill more than one million people!

 

And on a lighter note: at the other end of the scale are cheap tinned baked beans with a (iD estimated) LD50 of about 10kg/kg. As nasty as they are, you’d probably stlll be better off bludgeoning someone to death with the tins of beans rather than to trying to poison them by feeding them the cheap tinned baked beans on a pizza or toast 🤣🤣🤣

 

I suspect anyone eating 10kgs of baked beans would eventually die of loneliness.

[Erichill16]

10 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

I suspect anyone eating 10kgs of baked beans would eventually die of loneliness.

Edited August 25 by Erichill16
Won’t fugging edit!

[Winslow Boy]

3 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Or suffocation due to too rich a methane atmosphere.

Or the subsequent explosion.

[DenysW]

18 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

I suspect anyone eating 10kgs of baked bean

That's 10 kg/kg in @iL Dottore's post. Ten times your body weight of anything doesn't sound a healthy diet to me.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

 

I suspect anyone eating 10kgs of baked beans would eventually die of loneliness.

I found that so funny I cried🤣

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

 

I suspect anyone eating 10kgs of baked beans would eventually die of loneliness.

 

Mr Flatulent?  🤔

 

I suppose the poor devil could also power their own motor vehicle!

 

 

Edited August 25 by Hroth
Another thort.

[PhilJ W]

[jjb1970]

We were visited by a frog tonight, it eyed me up, decided I wasn't worth it's time and continued on it's journey.

[Happy Hippo]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

We were visited by a frog tonight, 

Jamie or Ian?

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Jamie or Ian?

Rampant racism!

[AndyID]

Lorna is growing some triffids.

 

[SM42]

A busy week awaits. 

2 night shifts, collect Mrs SM42's new car from  the dealers, get my car back from the garage, help my late friends widow sort out his trains and pick up the family ( they are off to London tomorrow for two days)  in Uckfield en route to a few days in Eastbourne with a quick visit to Oxford on the way back. 

 

It will be good to go back to work for a rest. 

 

Andy

[SM42]

I've just been issued with my orders for the next three days. 

 

Strangely, collecting a car is not included. 

 

Sleep is, however, for wimps it seems. 

 

Andy

[monkeysarefun]

13 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

Surprisingly, spider venom is fairly low on the list of lethal animals (https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-most-venomous-animals-on-earth-ranked/32/).

 

 

 

 

8 of the top 10. 

 

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!

Edited August 25 by monkeysarefun

[Winslow Boy]

Some people or should that be chimps are easily pleased.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Some people or should that be chimps are easily pleased.

 

 

Not pleased at all actually, I'm outraged.

 

I've put in an objection to the judges  due to the Eastern Brown Snake being entirely overlooked.

 

"The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae". The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. 

It is considered the world's second-most venomous land snake after the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), based on its LD50 value (subcutaneous) in mice. The main effects of its venom are on the circulatory system—coagulopathy, haemorrhage (bleeding), cardiovascular collapse, and cardiac arrest. One of the main components of the venom is the prothrombinase complex pseutarin-C, which breaks down prothrombin. Onset of symptoms can be rapid, with a headache developing in 15 minutes and clotting abnormalities within 30 minutes; collapse has been recorded as occurring as little as two minutes after being bitten. Death is due to cardiovascular causes such as cardiac arrest or intracranial haemorrhage.

 

Beat that,  number 8 -  so called "Boomslang"...

Edited August 26 by monkeysarefun