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Snake Bites Man On Tongue
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by phrolen | September 19, 2007 at 04:25 pm
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As a former university fraternity guy I have seen my fair share of drunken stunts performed at party's. However, one Oregon man takes the grand prize for stupidest man alive this week after a drunken party stunt that landed him in Intensive Care. Matt Wilkinson of Portland Oregon, an avid snake collector, apparently stuck a rattlesnake, which he had caught from off the side of the road, into his mouth to impress his girlfriend who was getting him another beer. "You can assume alcohol was involved." Said Wilkinson when quizzed about the incident. "It was a mixture of stupid stuff."
The state of Oregon usually reports around 50 snake bites per year and deaths from rattlers are extremely rare. Wilkinson had a tracheotomy performed to allow breathing and ICU doctors began administering antivenin; he is expected to make a full recovery. When asked how people close to him responded to the news of the error in judgement Wilkinson said "They were like, 'what the heck were you thinking'" His response "It's my own stupidity."
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Snake collector Matt Wilkinson of Portland grabbed a 20-inch rattler from the highway near Maupin, and three weeks later, to impress his ex-girlfriend, he stuck the serpent in his mouth.
He was soon near death with a swollen tongue that blocked his throat. Trauma doctors at the Oregon Health and Science University saved his life.
"You can assume alcohol was involved," he said. Actually, not just beer. It was something he called a "mixture of stupid stuff."
Calls from cable network television stations poured in Tuesday, when he still had sore muscles and nerves from the venom.
It happened at a barbecue with friends.
Wilkinson, 23, had downed a six-pack and his ex-girlfriend asked him for a beer. He handed her one, not realizing the snake was also in his hand.
"She said, 'Get that thing out of my face,'" Wilkinson said. "I told her it was a nice snake. 'Nothing can happen. Watch.'"
So he stuck the snake in his mouth.
"It got a hold of my tongue," he said.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 05:55 on September 20th, 2007
Snakes are beautiful in their way, majestic, stern and powerful, but I don't really like them, you know, like that. I've encountered many a serpent in the wild, and none have ever attacked me for no reason. Having said that, I also don't scoop them up and stick them in my mouth. And neither should anyone else!