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| Rug Shopper |
How the legend tale is set, is basically a young woman was rummaging through a pile of expensive rugs at a ritzy furniture store when she was attacked by a deadly Cobra, that she was looking at. She lived in England where the expensive ritzy furniture store was. She was rushed to a London hospital after the enraged reptile sank its huge fangs into her arm. The woman survived the attack from the bite of the Cobra after spending several days in the hospital of London's finest and receiving very painful treatments to remove the poison from her body. It was said that the store manager David Ross figured that the huge snake had stowed away in the rugs when they were being shipped from India and Pakistan. These places have large problems with these poison dangers snakes slipping into the rugs during the shipping periods of docks to ship.
There was another incident in November of 1989. It was a rumor in Springfield Illinois when a woman slipped on a coat in a local department store and felt a jab in one of her arms. She assumes she was just stuck by a sewing pin. Later on in the day she felt more pain in her arm. She also detected a deep redness in the area where she felt the poke early in the day. So she decides to go to the hospital for treatment. Once she arrives at the hospital the medics discover she was bitten by a snake. So the local police were sent to the store where she was bitten. A large search was underway of the coat inventory to find the snake within all those coats. Within a short time, the snake turns up in a sleeve lining of the coat the woman had tried on early that day. It was a foreign product and it was a very exotic snake that had slipped during the shipment before it left the orient. This is just one of many tales of this legend. Often these stories have just, happen in discount stores in the urban legends. However, not always is this the case as I have stated above. There is one store that was mentioned quite often that is a huge chain ---Kmart---in the 80's. This company maintained at its Troy, Michigan headquarters that there was a 'snake-file' containing hundreds of inquiries. Some of these inquiries were; An electric blanket---An woman had bought a electric blanket and felt a prick one cold night while using it. She thinks it's just a loose wire. So she still plugs the in anyway. The warmth coming from the blanket cause the snake that once was in there eggs to hatch. How the woman had lots of tiny snakes in her blanket... That is just one of many Tales.
Well, I found another legend~
Well, I found another legend~
Coat of Arms~
This Urban legend which began in the late 1960's of a woman bitten fatally by a snake found in the pocket of her new winter coat as called, 'snake hidden in most anything tale of vipe in a winter coat'. It seems that this legend of the late 60's has moved all the to 1991 and at the time it seems the legend was strongly associated with Burlington Coat Factory, a new Jersey firm with stores across the US. Burlington Coat Factory is well known for for its many clothiers manufactures of outerwear and winter coats that were always offered at discount in most clothing stores. Burlington Coat Factory is one of the few to specialize almost exclusively in this type of items of apparel. I myself have gone to the Burlington Coat Factory many a times for myself, for my husband and for my son too, but we have never had any problems thank goodness. It's seems that the Burlington Coat Factory involving any type of winter coat will naturally gravitate towards this huge company. The impression that the coats are less expensive at Burlington adds to the believability of the legend to sell them cheap. This
leads the idea that Burlington Firms must be importing most of all its inventory from third world countries where the most venomuos snakes are slithering into the products before they are put on the ships.
Burlington's Factory's said they have been looking for that mythical snake for a number of years and they have been constantly being asked about this Legend. According to its people that have work for them for many years, the story could never come true in that chain of Stores... The coats don't get to the consumer fast enough for any lurking snakes [assuming there were any] to still be part of the deal. Even the spokesman at the chain's headquarters of Burlington had said,'If a snake got into a distribution center for a few months before it's sent to the stores. Are you going to tell me, it will be able to survive all that time up a sleeve or pocket?'.
However, It seems that the spokeman of Burlington Coat Factory center would eat his words...
However, in 1991 there was a lawsuit popped up in Pennsylvania do to a couple's mattress. Shortly after they had bought the mattress in May of 1988, the couple noticed unusual movements in their bed that could be a living creature. The couple exchanged the mattress for another, but again they noticed the same odd movements in their bed which was quite unnerving. After four months of this, they took the mattress to a lab, where workers found what was left of a 26-inch ribbon snake.
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| Rainbow Snake |
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Virginia Wildlife Action Plan Rating Tier IV - Moderate Conservation Need - The species may be rare in parts of its range, particularly on the periphery. Populations of these species have demonstrated a significant declining trend or one is suspected which, if continued, is likely to qualify this species for a higher tier in the foreseeable future. Long-term planning is necessary to stabilize or increase populations.
COLORATION and PATTERN: iridescent with 3 red stripes on a black dorsum; middorsal stripe extends only to base of tail, whereas the lateral stripes on scale row 6 (counting from the ventrals on each side) extend onto dorsum of the tail; coloration below the 6th scale row is usually black; venter yellow with 2 primary rows of black spots - there may be a shorter, 3rd midventral row in some specimens; dorsum of head black to slate blue with some of the scales edged in red, forming an artistic pattern; throat, chin, infralabials, and supralabials yellow; each supralabial and some of the infralabials and chin shields have distinct black spots; yellow and red coloration fades to white in preservative. These are stout, cylindrical snakes with no difference in the width of the head and neck. The tail has a sharp spine.
SEXUAL DIMORPHISM: Sexual dimorphism is exhibited in size, pattern, and scutellation. Adult females reach longer snout vent lengths (781-1518 mm, avg. = 1051.1+/-220.9, n=16) than males (722-730 mm, avg. = 726, n=2). Sexual dimorphism index is 1.45. However, tail length/total length ratio in males is higher (17.0-17.4%, avg. = 17.2, n=2) than in females (10.5-15.8%, avg. = 12.3+/-1.3%, n=16). Females have a higher number of ventrals (avg. - 170.8+/-2.3, 167-175, n=31) than males (159.2+/-1.5, 157-161, n=6). Counts of ventrals + subcaudals for males (204-210 avg. = 208.8+/-3.0, n=28). The midventral spots are usually more distinct in males than in females.*10760* Richmond reported that hatchlings from New Kent Co. were sexually dimorphic in number of ventrals (females 170-175, avg. = 172.0+/-1.2, n=39;; males 155-162, avg. = 159.3+/-1.5, n=46) and number of subcaudals (females 35-42, avg. = 37.6+/-1.3; males 44-49, avg. = 46.5+/-1.0) and ventrals + subcaudals (females 207-215, avg. = 209.7+/-1.6; males 202-210, avg. = 205.8+/-1.8). The midventral row of black spots is more pronounced in male hatchlings than females. However, these are statistical differences and cannot be used to assign gender to single individuals.
JUVENILES: Juveniles are colored and patterned as adults. Hatchlings averaged 196.3+/-3.0 mm SVL (170-222, n=81), 231.3 +/-13.6 mm total length (197-270, n=81),and 5.9+/-1.1 g body mass (3.6-8.7, n=68).*10760* Confusing Species: No other Virginia snake is as multicolored as F. erytogramma. Mud snakes (F. abacura) have stout bodies and are shiny, but are uniformly black dorsally and red ventrally with some overlap on the sides.
GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION: There is no geographic variation in pattern, color, or scutellation in Va.*10760* Reproduction: This species lays up to 52 eggs in an underground cavity in sandy soil, usually during July. The leathery white eggs are deposited from to 18 inches below the surface in exposed, dry, sandy fields.*1006* Females remain with their eggs in the nest, presumably to confer some protection against predation.*10760* The young hatch in the fall and overwinter on land, probably in a burrow near the nest, and move overland to an aquatic area in early spring. The males may reach sexual maturity by the end of their second or the beginning of their third year. The female probably reach maturity by the end of the third year, possibly the second
BEHAVIOR: These snakes are both aquatic and burrowers. They are exellent swimmers but usually prowl along stream or swamp bottoms. At times they burrow into muck or mud. They have been found in dry sand at depths of up to 10 feet. The young have been found beneath boards logs and other debris. They may use their sharp tiped tail to probe. They have no definite period of hibernation since active specimens have been reported during every month. The main food of this species is eels. After catching an eel the snake usually climbs out of the water where the prey is swallowed head first. They may often rest with the tail dangling from its mouth
AQUATIC/TERRESTRIAL ASSOCIATIONS: This species is preyed on by aquatic turtles, raccoons, opossums, skunks, kingsnakes and hawks *1006*. Nothing is known of the population ecology of this species anywhere in its range. Richmond plowed up 20 rainbow snakes in a 10 ac. field on one day in New Kent Co. Rainbow snakes will not bite, but will thrash about vigorously when picked up and attempt to scratch or poke the handler with the spine on the tail (it will not pierce the skin). These snakes appear to be oblivious to
humans unless picked up.
This link is most of the artical of the rainbow snake that I got the info, but there is a little more that I didn't include...
The Couple after going through two mattress with two rainbow
snakes or more asked for 20,000$ in damages.
Another Snake int the product was in September of 2003,
this was by Douglas Hatchett of Bangs Texas. It was while he
was shopping for shoes in a Wal-Mart. Douglas claimed to have been
bitten by a rattlesnake which had been concealed behind a shoebox
on a shelf in the shore of Wal-Mart. The victim had said he
stomped the snake to death.
I think this post tells most of our fear of foreign contamination of
snakes and other poison creatures. The snake legend has always
come from outside the US, even though America slso has both
venomous vipers and the textile industry. Just as in the
Mexican Pet and the sider-filled shaking cactus legends, something
broght in form a foreign land conceals untold dangers.
Walmart shopper bitten by Rattlesnake that he ~mistook for a stick~
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| Mr. Craig & Mica Craig at hosptial after his 6 bags of anti venom |
A man who said he was reaching down to pick up a stick lying in the
gardening aisle of a Walmart store was shocked to discover that it was
actually a rattle snake, which promptly bit him. Mica Craig says
he was shopping in the outdoor garden department of the Lewiston,
Idaho, on a Saturday afternoon.
The 47year old said the reptile dug its fangs into his hand and
that is when screamed in pain shook the snake loose and
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| The Rattle Snake the Bit Mr. Craig |
stomped it to death. It seems that a good bystander took Mr.
Craig to St. Joseph's hospital, where he was released after a doctor
had examied his hand saying there were no signs that the snake had
released any venom in his had. However, by the time Mr Craig returned to his home in Clarkston, Washington he told the paper,
'The Lewiston Tribune' that his hand had grown to the size of a
cantaloupe. So Craig returned to the hospital, and was treated with
six bags of anti-venom for the Rattlesnake. In addition, he was told that
his hand may be permanently disfigured.
Mr Craig told the Tribune; They got all the poison out of me but
they don't know how bad the muscle damage will be!
He said the doctors expect him to remain hospitalised until for
quite a few days. Mr. Craig said that he had spoken to officials at
the Walmart store and claimed they told him the snake that bit him
was not the first they had discovered. When reached by the
Tribune , a manager at the store Wal-Mart would not confirm or
deny that the episode took place. Mr. Craig told the paper that he has
always liked Walmart, but the romance may be over after this incident.
There are dozens of species of rattle snakes, which are the largest
of all in venomous snakes in the US according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers.
While rattlers are behind the most common snakebite
injuries, they are rarely fatal if treated quickly.
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| The Wal*Mart where a Mr. Craig was bitten by a Rattle snake in the Garden area. |
World's deadlies snake discovered in Indian shipping container
after arriving at Essex dock
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| Deadly Saw-scaled vaper of India |
They can grow up to three feet long and have oblique scales which rub against each other to produce a hissing sound which is supposed to warn potential predators. They live all over the world in dry
savannas, including Africa, Asia and India.
They have a stout body with a pear-shaped head.
The reptiles tend to hunt at night and eat
mammals, birds, snakes and lizards.
The saw-scaled viper is the smallest member of the Big Four snakes which are responsible for causing the most snakebite cases and deaths.
They tend to bite their victims in the dark as they're nocturnal.
Bites result in bleeding anywhere in the body, including a brain haemorrage which can occur a few days after a bite.
A lethal dose of venom is 3-5mg and
women produce more venom than males.
Saw-Scaled Vaper arriving at Essex Dock
For the last of my Urban Legend of the Snake Stowaway's
there is the deadly snake Saw-scaled vapers that are being found.
Wildlife volunteers had the shock of their lives when they were called
to resue a slipery stowaway and discovered it was the world's deadlies snake. What the Volunteers found from the South Essex
Wildlife hosptial was a Saw-scaled viper curled up in the corner of a
gaint shipping container that had arrived at Tibury Docks from India.
The Saw-scaled vipers are small but have an irritable and
aggressive nature and their lethal venom makes them very dangerous to humans. The snake is believed to be a stowaway from INdia and is at a
wildlife hospital awaiting to be re-homed.
Experts believe they[saw-scaled vipers] are responsible for more humans death than all other snake species combined as they
tend to live in more populated areas.
Hospital founder Sue Schwar said,
"We routinely handle injured and uncooperative wildlife
everyday of the week, but I'm glad it's rare to get one of these critters.'
She added, 'They are very dangerous snakes to keep. It's like having a
loaded gun with these kinda snakes. Their venom isn't the most
poisonous but because they live in highly populated areas
where they tend to bite more people. That's why they're
the most deadly. I think the guys at the company wanted it taken
away pretty quickly as it's a risk to their staff.'
She had also said that the reptile expert Steve Mitchell managed
to scoop up the snake before it could it slither away.
Steve knew straight away what it was, although it's not a very
big snake they move like lightning and can strike pretty quickly.
These snakes can live in the enousmous containers for
several weeks and still be in good health.
Note; The vipers are small but have an aggressive nature and
their lethal venom makes them even more dangerous
They live all over the world in dry savannas, including Africa,
Asia and India and have a stout body with a pear-shaped head.
Essex: A general view of Tilbury Docks
where the containers arrived in the UK. This is where
the saw-scaled vipers arrive from all over the world.
Mostly area's of the dry savannas, africa, asia, india and
so many other area's around the world. It is also the place
where many of the snakes await to be re-homed once again.
Well I hope that you all enjoyed the
legend of the Rug shopper and many others
of a snakes that seem to be stowaways.
So next time what out when you buy those
items over seas...
YOUR WENDY
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