2004 Darwin Awards

The mamba's bite was described by Jack, of Jack Seale's Snake and Animal Park near Johannesburg, as "a pure neurotoxin, it gives you a buzz." The victim becomes lightheaded, tingly and warm. "It's a lovely feeling," says Seale. A single bite can deliver 400 milligrams of paralyzing venom; a mere 10 milligrams can be fatal to a human. When Seale was bitten, his treatment consisted of injections of antivenin, cortisone, and adrenalin, which helped him survive long enough to be hooked up to a heart-lung machine. After a week of dialysis and blood transfusions, he could finally wiggle a single finger. ("Black Mamba!" International Wildlife, Nov/Dec 1996.