this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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It kind of is, but it depends on the continent from what I have found. After looking around a bit, it seems that this wouldn't apply in Africa or other places. It's probably partially true, but I couldn't find out exactly what the conditions were.
But...
I am not snake expert, nor am I even snake smart. However, it seems that the best course of action is not to fuck around and find out.
It's not even an indicator, there's places where the opposite is true, this is like the myth of the vertical slit pupils meaning they're venomous, there's no actual correlation, this just coincidentally works in areas with few snake species, but you'd have to know that ahead of time, and since there's few species wherever this does work, you might as well just learn what the venomous snakes look like so this is practically completely useless.
This usually happens when somebody learns that in their local area this rule applies, and then assumes it applies everywhere.
This doesn't look local, and it seems reviewed: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/presentations/100138_3.htm
I legitimately want to understand how this information is propagating and why. Your explanation seems correct, but given the above link, there may be more to this problem. Honestly, I am just confused now.
(There is also a huge disclaimer at the bottom of that site, btw.)
Its the previous thing of it, potentially, being true somewhere and then also just it sounds like it could be true. TikTok is full of stuff like this, that sounds true enough and is presented from somewhat of an authority angle, with confidence. Too often I get someone to send me a tiktok of some medical fact like: “is this true?”. And 9/10 it is not.
Thankfully, I avoid short-form videos like the plague.
The link I shared was from a government site but with limited information attached. It also appeared to be reviewed on a regular basis.
Hell, I am just going to write the creators of that page and get some verification.
I mostly do as well, although I have stumbled on some shorts worth while, so ill click those from time to time. Vsauce only posts shorts these days 😢
It holds true enough for North America, but not in other parts of the world, e.g. Africa. So yes, it should have a disclaimer.
Source: https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/news/myths-and-hoaxes/harmless-vs-venomous/