Transcript Slide 1
NATURE’S PARADOX SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLORA AND FAUNA ARE THE MOST DEADLY THE FOXGLOVE and AZALEA – two common garden plants, both toxic The foxglove can cause heart attacks. Ingesting azalea leaves or flowers causes nausea, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea. NY TIMES NEWS STORY Five more deaths from eating poisonous toadstools, mistaken for nutritious mushrooms, were reported yesterday in the Eastern USA. This brings the total deaths from toadstool poisoning during recent heavy rains to 19. In ancient Greece, hemlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. The most famous victim of hemlock poisoning is the philosopher Socrates. After being condemned to death for inciting unrest, Socrates was given a potent drink of hemlock. HEMLOCK CYANIDE Each of these contains some cyanide. Apples and cherries have small doses in their seeds and almonds need to be heat treated to break down the cyanide. Although the fruit is delicious, the stems and leaves of tomatoes can cause nausea and vomiting. POISON DART FROG – beautiful and most colourful Yet . . . The golden dart frog has enough toxicity to kill 10 men. Beautiful until they sting - which causes burns and welts . . . And in some cases death. The blue-ringed octopus is 5 to 8 inches long, but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans . There is no anti-venom available. The venom is such that the victim remains aware of his surroundings, and is able to understand what is taking place, but cannot breath or move. This tiny octopus carries enough venom to kill about twenty six humans ANGLER FISH Females are rounded with an enormous head and lethal sharp-fang like teeth. The lure, a bright light, protrudes profoundly from her head, shining and attracting prey. The male lacks this lure. The male anglerfish is born as and lives his life as one giant, useless freeloader – like the friend who'll move in and live on your sofa while he holds out for a job that doesn't require him to do anything. The male Angler As soon as the male anglerfish is old enough, its entire digestive system shuts down. Since it can no longer eat or live on its own, it needs to find a woman to sustain him. Once it does so, he bites her and releases an enzyme that bonds their flesh together permanently, thus making the male a parasite that lives off the female The animals most at risk from the black widow's bite are male black widow spiders. Females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating. Black widows are solitary year-round except during this violent mating ritual. The female Praying Mantis also eats her male partner after breeding. Sexual Cannibalism CUTE ! But oh so very deadly!!!!! RULES TO LIVE BY: “NEVER GIVE A CHIMPANZEE A LOADED GUN!” BEAUTIFUL VILLAINS “They ain’t pretty, They just looks that way.” A one night affair with a beautiful, seductive lawyer . . . . . turns into a nightmare as you are stalked by an obsessed and suicidal psychopath. “She ain’t pretty, She just looked that way.” USED AND EXPLOITED BY YOUR “BEST” FRIEND “She ain’t pretty, She just looks that way.” “He ain’t pretty, He just looks that way.” The BOND GIRLS “They ain’t pretty, They just look that way.” “She ain’t pretty, She just looks that way.” In Homer’s Ulysses, the Sirens are incredibly beautiful women who lure sailors to their deaths through songs that seduce all who hear them. SIRENS “They ain’t pretty, They just look that way.”