slugs

3 Stories

His Friends Dared Him to Eat
a Slug. He Died 8 Years Later

Nov 5, 2018 9:05 AM CST

His Friends Dared Him to Eat a Slug. He Died 8 Years Later

Sam Ballard contracted parasitic infection after challenge by pals in 2010

(Newser) - "In a single night, his life … changed forever." So says the host of an Australian TV show in her tribute column to Sam Ballard, a young man who took an ill-advised dare from his friends in 2010 and just died from complications related to that challenge. The...

Your Christmas Tree May Be Full of Creepy-Crawlies

Dec 24, 2014 10:14 AM CST

Your Christmas Tree May Be Full of Creepy-Crawlies

Slugs, bugs, spiders, frogs—up to 25K might be hiding out in your evergreen

(Newser) - Perhaps there's some merit to having a skimpy-looking Charlie Brown Christmas tree: At least you can see if there are any critters hanging out there. Oregon entomologists checked out 100 evergreen fields and discovered more than 67,000 bugs and other small pests from 836 species, the Wall Street ...

Slug-Eating Dare Leaves
Man In Critical Condition

May 16, 2010 6:55 PM CDT

Slug-Eating Dare Leaves Man In Critical Condition

(Newser) - An Australian man is fighting for his life after eating a raw slug for a dare. The Sidney man, 21, contracted a disease called rat lungworm, which many slugs and snails carry from eating infected rat feces. Similar to meningitis, it can be fatal because it causes the brain and...

3 Stories