Entirely moronic question

vfb · #1 January 14th, 2008, 11:52 AM

Nah, those dudes in the amazon are always shooting monkeys with poison darts dipped in frog skin juice, and eating them without dying. Not sure what the mechanism is, you'll have to ask the next passing Androphag you meet.

Amhazair · #2 January 14th, 2008, 01:43 PM

I suppose they (both the Androphags and the Amazons) use some kind of poison that needs to be directly injected in the bloodstream to kill, but that is harmless when ingested, perhaps because the digestive juices can break it down or something?

I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm quite sure something like that is possible.

Ironhawk · #3 January 14th, 2008, 04:10 PM

It works if the Androphags produce the poison in thier own body, I suppose. Like a snake.

atul · #4 January 14th, 2008, 04:19 PM

I always thought snakes are not necessarily immune to their own poisons, but have sophisticated fang mechanisms that prevent them from biting themselves. But that comes from some elementary school biology class ten(s) of years ago, so don't believe me too hastily...

Potatoman · #5 January 14th, 2008, 06:41 PM

Perhaps they eat only prisoners of war and captives pillaged from conquered lands?

Serenity · #6 January 14th, 2008, 09:00 PM

This thread makes me hungry.

Ironhawk · #7 January 15th, 2008, 05:59 AM

Quote:

atul said:
I always thought snakes are not necessarily immune to their own poisons, but have sophisticated fang mechanisms that prevent them from biting themselves. But that comes from some elementary school biology class ten(s) of years ago, so don't believe me too hastily...

Maybe, maybe not. But the fact is that snakes use thier own poison to kill thier prety... and then immediately consume it with no ill effect. Thats was the point I was driving at.

Acenoid · #8 January 15th, 2008, 07:31 AM

but the poison they have is only stunning the victims not killing them, so the poison probably has onlyill effects if injected into muscles & bloodstream (as said earlier already)

Agema · #9 January 15th, 2008, 09:22 AM

As stated above, curare, used by South American natives, was effective on arrows as it killed if it got into the bloodstream. It was harmless when ingested, as it couldn't be absorbed and is (I think) ultimately broken down by the digestive system. On the other hand, you'd need to worry if you tried that and you had a stomach ulcer.

They could also feasibly use a poison they have a natural resistance or acquired tolerance for: lots of animals use poison to kill their prey but don't die when they eat the victim.

Taqwus · #10 January 15th, 2008, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Amhazair said:
I suppose they (both the Androphags and the Amazons) use some kind of poison that needs to be directly injected in the bloodstream to kill, but that is harmless when ingested, perhaps because the digestive juices can break it down or something?

I believe so -- at least in the case of arrow poison.

Quite a few are neurotoxins which interfere with either acetylcholine or acetylcholinesterase. The former is a neurotransmitter that's important in the process by which nerves stimulate muscle tissue; the latter is an enzyme which deals with acetylcholine. Both are found in numerous species, so these neurotoxins are not particularly specific. Block the former, and muscles relax; block the latter, and muscles contract. Since the continual smooth functioning of certain muscles is rather vital (the intercostal muscles and the heart tissue, for instance), interfering with either to an extreme tends to be quite lethal.

Since they're not specific to a species... I'd go with the metabolism-vs-bloodstream theory.