more trouble from snails

[MorkandMindy]

If you think living snails eating your lettuce is a problem, just think of the havoc they can wreck when they're dead.

Young grass in spring is much higher in nitrogen content than later in the year, so an early drought has left a lot of dead dried out snails that are high in nitrates. High nitrates plus proteins results in a composition sort of like gunpowder.

The problem is the dead snail is attached to the shell by a ligament and is free once it has dried out, to move in the shell and therefore when thrown to strike itself and auto ignite.

The result can be anything from a puff of smoke to (if you leave it in the sun to dry out thoroughly) a pop or on occasion even a bang.

This can be hazardous so ensure you throw the snail at least ten feet away to discover the origin of the artillery 'shell'.

 

[MorkandMindy]

amazing, butterflies seemed so harmless!


YouTube - Butterfly Swarm Attacks Man

 

[Hespera]

Well seriously, snails and butterflies can be a menace but Possums...

YouTube - possum attack

(Bonus: anyone who is unsure what a "redneck" is, be prepared to Learn.)

 

[Chesterton]

You must get your information about snails from the media. Yes, a few radicalized snails explode, but the vast majority of snails are peaceful, law abiding creatures and do not explode. The minority of extremist snails which do explode usually do so due to conditions of poverty and oppression in their homelands. Besides, American policy being as anti-snail as it is, it's no wonder that a few would express their grievances in this way. I'm disgusted at your attempt to whip up anti-snail hysteria. We are a pluralistic planet and we must learn to live together.

 

[Hespera]

You must get your information about snails from the media. Yes, a few radicalized snails explode, but the vast majority of snails are peaceful, law abiding creatures and do not explode. The minority of extremist snails which do explode usually do so due to conditions of poverty and oppression in their homelands. Besides, American policy being as anti-snail as it is, it's no wonder that a few would express their grievances in this way. I'm disgusted at your attempt to whip up anti-snail hysteria. We are a pluralistic planet and we must learn to live together.

Try livin' with possums. You see what happened to that guy.

 

[MorkandMindy]

The photo is of a typical large snail for this area, many live by eating the green algae that grows on the stone walls and such in this area due to the high humidity


Exploding snails however is a April fools joke of my own creation,

of the small group I go to the pub (more family oriented than a bar) with, just the one
who used to teach chemistry guessed it was a spoof

for me the only certainty is the inside of the shell is too smooth to work as a striker, but I did make it up without doing any research, so I'm far from sure about the nitrate / protein mix, so just maybe...




(a few months on you may see me gathering dried out snails for the fourth of July)