Elephant shit:
while barreling down a rocky path in our 3 wheel gas tank in the middle of one of south India's largest nature preserves, imagine my surprise when not 5 minutes after posing the question, "is that elephant shit?", do we have to slow down to let a real life wild elephant cross the broken path in front of us. Now I'm no Steve Irwin and I can barley tell monkey dung from a rabbit turd but folks, I can now confidently say that there is no mistaking a pile of elephant shit. What may you ask crosses ones mind while passing an elephant in what must look to him like a giant can of 'chicken of the sea tuna' careening by? some of you might have fond memories of feeding peanuts to a giant snout from the safety of a zoo railing. Some of you still may well-up watching with baited breath as dumbo falls inches from the circus floor. And even some of you may still have calluses on your ass from in what retrospectively was determined to be a poorly made decision to go for a ride on one in that game farm a few years ago...As for me...I had flashbacks to a show I caught only the day earlier in a somewhat westernized hotel in Munnar called 'ELEPHANT RAGE'! That's right- national geographic did a whole hour on the new phenomenon of elephant rage- complete with stomach turning recreations of these mammoth beasts tearing whole villages to shreds. (cue close up of elephant eye crying) Needless to say I was somewhat terrified when 10 seconds later we pass the spot where the elephant crossed only to find that he had disappeared, camouflaged into the foliage not 20 feet from the road. May I remind you that this is a 10 ton beast of at least 15 feet!? I immediately starting making plans for the next national geographic special 'ELEPHANT SNEAK ATTACK!' thankfully this elephant was not sneaky nor rageful and so let us pass without incident. I only hope we are equally lucky next time.
Nerve Gas:
apparently Indians have determined that in small doses nerve gas is harmless to humans yet can choke a swarm of mosquitos in less than 5 minutes. This being the case in just about every room we've crashed in there is a vile of nerve gas plugged into the wall socket slowly swallowing mosquitoes-i guess..
so now we are left with the decision to risk malaria or a slowly palsying left eye. I flip a coin.
so far I'm 3 out of 4 for a wandering left eye. (can someone please do some research on nerve gas and its effects on humans please? I'd be oh so grateful)
And oh yeah.. I think a Eunich peed in our rickshaw.
-from pontecherri, the Indian Riveria-
Adam
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5 comments:
Hi Guys,
Some info about your mosquitos and insecticides.
Insecticides
"A number of insecticides, the organophosphates such as dichlorvos, malathion and parathion, are nerve agents. The metabolism of insects is sufficiently different from mammals that these compounds have little effect on humans and other mammals at proper doses; but there is considerable concern about the effects of long-term exposure to these chemicals..."
The bottom line is...stay away -w e don't want any of you coming home with a twitch!
Be careful and safe,
Luv you!
Mom and Dad
Nerve gas is a generic term for a group of poisons that act via the same mechanism; namely, inhibition of the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is normally carried out by acetylcholinesterase. By blocking this enzyme, there is a buildup of acetylcholine in the nervous system. They make great pesticides, but can also be used as humanicides. Therefore, poisoning by nerve agents tend to produce the following syndrome (and mneumonic):
Salivation
Lacrimation (tearing)
Urination (not on the rug, man)
Defecation (not on the rug, man)
GI problems (nausea, vomiting)
Excitability (seizure)
Bronchorrhea (mucus in the lungs)
Bradycardia (slow heart rate)
Brochospasm (asthma attack)
Also paralysis and constriction of the pupils can occur.
Therefore, should you experience any of the above symptoms, you may want to find a different place to sleep for the night. Also, do not get nerve agents on your skin. It could lead to prolonged exposure (mostly by inhaling the vapors). My sources indicate that if you have been exposed to a nerve agent, but remain conscious and have no paralysis, you should be OK. Otherwise, find a Dr. Gupta, stat!
1/2/07-Happy New Year to AMAZING Team Korma. We have been getting calls commenting on your unbelievable Blog/adventure. So, here we are in goat free, nerve gas free, elephant free Merrick ( we do have killer Geese) fascinated with your writings. There is an article in the current People Magazine aboutJason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson & Andrien Brody (whoever they are ) filming a Wes Anderson Comedy , The Darjeeling Limited about three brothers traveling through India. How did they ever think of anything so unlikely ? Nobody would ever do this. Keep up the good work. Stay careful, Alert and Safe. Love Ma & Pa Sternin.
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