An ancient Chinese proverb we made up five minutes ago reminds us that “dead snakes still bite.”
Never has the fake aphorism been truer than in the case of Harbin housewife Mrs Liu, who was bitten last week by a pickled snake she’d kept immersed in a jar of Chinese liquor back in June – over three months ago.
Dbw.cn, a Heilongjiang-based news portal, reported that a short-tailed mamushi (non-pickled variety pictured below) that Ms Liu had infused in several litres of baijiu came to life unexpectedly as she was topping up the tipple. While stirring the snake with chopsticks, the reptile shocked her by making a dash for freedom while giving her a nip on the right hand for good measure.
Liu was sent to hospital by her family, while the snake (natch) was killed on the spot.
The reptile had been first captured by a friend who worked at the local forest and given to Liu to help treat her rheumatism, according to Dbw.
It has spent the last three months in a large, glass decanter drunk from regularly by Liu via a tap at the bottom. “My disease hasn’t even been cured yet and I’ve been bitten to boot!” Liu supposedly joked from her hospital bed.
But just how did a snake survive in a bottle of baijiu for three months, a spirit known for its overpowering aroma, strong taste and toxic effects. According to “experts” quoted by Dbtw, if kept in a non-airtight vessel with enough oxygen, snakes may enter a condition similar to hibernation and thus stay alive for long periods of time.
Snake wine is widely believed by the Chinese to possess medicinal qualities and is often advertised to cure everything from far-sightedness to hair loss, as well as improved sexual performance. Indeed, the Lazarus snake is not so uncommon in China. In 2001, a farmer from Guangxi was reportedly bitten on the neck by a cobra he had left preserved in a jar of rice wine for over a year. Unfortunately, he died the following day.
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