Platypii have similarly been implicated in the killing of Romonus II, the attempted killing of Queen Elizabeth I, and the murder of several Medicis on behalf of Lucrezia Borgia. Out of spite, Ornithórynchos supposedly slipped another dose in the poor man’s tea the next day and the name stuck. Hemlock is often called “beaver poison” presumably because one of the philosopher’s friends mistook the furry creature mixing the herbs for a beaver. Legend has it that patypusia slipped poison into the food and drink of famous figures all the way back to Socrates, who allegedly drank hemlock that was mixed by a platypus named Ornithórynchos. But almost always as a form of political assassination. More recently, though, they have shifted to things like codeine, heroin, even radioactive heavy metals. Historically, these furry creatures have favored poisons like strychnine, arsenic, and cyanide. In fact, throughout history platypae have acted as nature’s political killers, dropping lethal concoctions into unsuspecting people’s food for thousands of years. Yes, platypi are the world’s only venomous mammal (that alone should give you pause before cooing over them). And yes, the word “poisonous” refers to compounds that are ingested whereas venomous refers to injections (like snake fangs or platypus spurs).īut the platypus is also poisonous. A secret that may put my own life at risk but as a science journalist I feel is my duty to share. What follows is a secret that governments and big businesses around the world don’t want you to know. You mean ‘venomous,’ referring to the sharp spurs on the back leg of the platypus that can put full-grown humans in the hospital.” “Erik,” you are thinking, “you’ve used the wrong word. But I can guess at what you might be thinking. I know what you are thinking – actually I have no idea what you are thinking because most of LWON’s readers are far smarter than myself. That’s right, platypuses regularly use poisons that can kill you. You see, platypuses (or “platypi,” as they are called by people who also use the word “octopi”) have a deadly secret. The duck-billed platypus – often called “nature’s mistake” or “holy crap, what is that freaky thing” by scientists – is not a toy, not a pet, and not even remotely safe. This needs to stop and it needs to stop now. They’ve even been given a cute little web nickname of “puggle.” In fact, I might go so far as to say the platypus is on the verge of becoming the web’s new hedgehog. As if it is some cute little bundle of playful, ticklish fun. A series of videos, pictures, and posts have portrayed the duck-billed platypus as an adorable, lovable creature. Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Creative Commons, and Freesound.I have noticed a disturbing trend on the internets recently. They thought that the explorers had glued a duck’s head and feet onto a mammal’s body! Nobody believed that it was a real animal.
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