Breathing - famous for being optional for those that would like to live.
Yes, there have only been around 3 people killed by them (largely because they’re shy, aquatic, and somewhat uncommon), and intervention can be made to stop them from killing you, but they’re one of the most toxic animals on the planet, and are unquestionably deadly.
gnutrino@programming.dev 4 weeks ago
I feel that’s like saying “getting mauled by a bear doesn’t kill you, it just causes major lacerations so all your blood leaks out”. Technically sure, but it seems like a bit of a pedantic distinction…
AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Reminds me of people who insisted COVID didn’t kill anyone because it was the symptoms that actually killed people
SacralPlexus@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
You’re not totally wrong but some things are not so easily treated as with rescue breathing. This is the same problem with any paralytic agent (e.g. botulism) is that the mechanism of death is suffocation since you can’t breathe. But from a rescue standpoint its really easy to breathe for someone whereas its not easy to stop multiple lacerations leading to exanguination and I think that is the point they were making is that this could be a survivable event if a rescuer is nearby.
toynbee@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I was thinking “it’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.”
General_Effort@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
It’s not the sudden stop at the end that kills you. It’s the different times at which parts of you stop.
General_Effort@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
It’s not the different times at which parts of you stop that kills you. It’s the different places they are in when they do.
(C’mon, y’all. Help me out. I’m trying to start a thing here!)
bisby@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Getting bit by a venomous snake in Australia and you’re blood starts to disassemble itself. The only counter is antivenom or die. Your blood breaking down is what kills you. And there is no way to separate the bite from that.
Being able to counter the venom in such a simple way is what makes it different. You can logically break it down into steps that are separable.
NeverNudeNo13@lemmings.world 4 weeks ago
Yeap, but that’s because the venom is a hemotoxin rather than a neurotoxin.
bisby@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Correct.
For the hemotoxin, you aren’t going to “just wait for the effects to wear off.” The toxin will kill you.
For the neurotoxin, you can just wait out the effects by countering the symptoms. Can’t breathe? Respirator can save your life.
The hemotoxin itself is doing terrible damage, but the neurotoxin itself doesn’t do any “damage” other than disabling systems.