Strange myths about scorpion origins include the Egyptian belief that scorpions came from the corpses of crocodiles, and the English belief that bruising sweet bay leaves would breed scorpions.
Scorpions can withstand hours of total immersion, weeks of freezing, and up to nine months without food or water. Some species can live for months buried alive!
Scorpions are considered to be the first arthopod to have emerged on land. Some sources believe them to be the first land animal
Egyptians believed that women were immune to scorpion stings. Another old belief was that scorpions stings were only fatal in the morning!
An old treatment for scorpion stings involved dosing the patient with a chicken's brain and five ants dissolved in vinegar...then the patient had to eat the scorpion roasted!
One superstition states that a scorpion surrounded by a ring of fire will sting itself to death.
Today stings from lethal scorpions are treated with a serum derived from the venom of scorpions.
Posted at 2008-03-25 22:15:40 PST(UTC-8H) Comments(0) | Permanent link
