FACT: to create antivenom, sheep are injected with poison until immune

If you get poisoned by a snake, scorpion, spider, or other ill-tempered thing, you want to find yourself some antivenom as quick as possible. It will find the toxic poison and neutralize it, preventing further damage. This scientific yin to nature’s yang was not created in a pharmaceutical lab, but rather cooked up naturally inside of a sheep.

In the early days of antivenom research they used horses because they were A) big enough to handle a little bit of poison in their system and B) convenient. However, they later found out that sheep were more compatible with humans. (easy on the Scottish jokes, now) So, they inject the sheep with small amounts of a specific poison, and let the immune system do the work, building up the appropriate antibodies to battle the poison. Further injections over time build up the strength of those antibodies, and when it’s finished brewing, the natural antivenom is bottled and kept in the fridge.

Each antivenom is created specifically for each variety of poison, so always take a good look at anything that bites you. You’ll need to have the right match to cure it. Like if you eat too much pasta and feel full, you need some antipasto, then you’re ready for dessert.

• Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivenom

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