What do you do when you've been bitten
by one of the deadliest snakes in the
world? Crack open a beer, of course.
That's what Rod Sommerville, 54, of
Australia, had in mind after he was
nipped by a eastern brown snake in his
backyard last month.
After the bite, the Queensland man said
he went inside and called emergency
services, according to local reports. He
then apparently grabbed a beer from the
fridge and sat down to enjoy the brew
while he waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Sommerville reasoned that panicking
would have made it worse.
"I said to myself, 'if I'm going to [die],
I'm going to have a beer,'" he told the
Rockhampton Morning Bulletin.
Native to Australia, eastern brown snakes
are highly venomous and can deliver
around 4 milligrams of venom in a single
bite. Though the species is responsible for
the most deaths due to snakebites in the
country, the poison can usually be
countered with an anti-venom.
Sommerville's case was no different. The
beer-drinking man was picked up by
emergency services and treated with an
anti-venom at a local hospital. Although
he had an adverse reaction to the
medication, Sommerville survived the incident.
