Schmidt’s Boomslang Death Notes

In 1957, a young boomslang snake, sent from a zoo for identification, accidentally bit American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt. Schmidt believed the snake was unlikely to deliver a fatal dose, but the venom triggered catastrophic internal bleeding as his condition worsened through the night and into the next day. Instead of stopping, he carefully recorded his symptoms in detailed notes almost until the end. He later collapsed at his home in Homewood, Illinois.

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