Why’d it have to be snakes?

View in browser | Your newsletter preferences

04.12.26

Animated collage of a snake, a hand, and a snake bite first aid kit

Why’d It Have to Be Snakes?

Are the people who “free handle” venomous snakes and then inevitably get envenomated by them complete idiots? Of course they are. Would my bosses let me use that word in the headline of our new Big Story? They would not. But I do like where we ended up: “Snake Bros Keep Getting Bitten by Their Lethal Pets. Only Zoos Can Save Them.”

Yes, it’s usually boys. Very online boys at that, showing off their snakes for clicks. Our writer, the ever-fun Claire McNear, talks to a number of bite victims for the story, and to their zookeeper saviors, too, who rely on an Antivenom Index, luck, and the occasional helicopter to rush out the antidotes. Otherwise these boy idiots could bleed out of their eyes! At least one of them requires an amputation.

It’s wildly entertaining stuff. And, I must say, totally inspiring. Snakes don’t bother me, but spiders? Living death! So I’ll think I’ll get one. A rare species, very lethal. We’ll do everything together. We’ll get lost in each other’s ever-multiplying eyes. And when it gives me that final loving bite, I’ll stream my dying moments on the internet.

P.S. If you've ever wanted to see a WIRED Big Story come to life, join (some of) us this Thursday for our first-ever WIRED@Night. See details here.

READ THE BIG STORY ➔

Jason Kehe, Senior Features Editor

Picked by senior research editor, Samantha Spengler

Nepenthes pitcher plant with a giant blade behind it

Toxic Temptations and Bloodthirsty Botanicals

Story originally published in October 2022

In this week’s Big Story, Claire McNear talked to hobbyist snake keepers who can’t stop collecting deadly venomous vipers. For a 2022 WIRED feature, Brian Howey embedded with hobbyists who can’t stop buying deadly (to flies) carnivorous pitcher plants. The exotic Nepenthes genus, found primarily in Southeast Asia, has fueled many a collecting addiction across the West. Caught up in Nepenthes mania, collectors order plants poached from Bornean mountainsides, risking the future of the genus and the possibility of a prison sentence for wildlife trafficking. Howey captures the fervor of Nepenthes fans as only a fellow Nep-head could, plunging readers into an otherworldly forest of freaky death traps and self-sabotage. Give it a read and then let me know—what is it about colorful fly traps and fanged serpents that captivates a certain subset of connoisseurs? Send me an email or comment below the story.

Image may contain: Advertisement, Poster, People, Person, Baby, Adult, Book, Publication, Clothing, Coat, Face, and Head

Meta Cafeteria Workers Did What Execs Won’t: Took on ICE and Won

BY PARESH DAVE | 4-MINUTE READ

In Seattle, activists inside tech giants are leaning into grassroots fundraising and peer support as petitions and protests draw little response from executives.

Image may contain: Racket, Sport, Tennis, Tennis Racket, Baby, Person, Face, and Head

The Ridiculously Nerdy Intel Bet That Could Rake in Billions

BY LAUREN GOODE | 6-MINUTE READ

Advanced chip packaging is suddenly at the center of the AI boom. Intel is going all in.

Image may contain: Electronics, Phone, and Dial Telephone

My Blissful, Unbothered Life as a ‘Do Not Disturb’ Maximalist

BY REECE ROGERS | 5-MINUTE READ

I turned off my phone notifications for an entire week. It made me a less disturbed person, but the people closest to me just got annoyed.

The subject of last week’s Big Story, Rafael Concepcion, spent last year coding anti-ICE tools, receiving death threats, and losing his job at Syracuse University in the process. In the article’s comments, readers expressed appreciation for Concepcion’s work and indignation at the university’s response. Concepcion himself jumped into the comments, noting that though he thought about fighting back against Syracuse, “There's a good part of me that decided against it because I just didn't want me as an individual to be a part of that story … I feel like the mission overall is much bigger than that.” He also described his morning affirmations: “I say to myself, ‘Look at this incredible piece of machinery. Look at it go.’ Then I look around and I look at the things in my room and I'm like, ‘Wow, I bought an arcade machine. Look at that. I have a cool sofa. Look at that.’ And little by little, I give myself these affirmations to turn around and go, ‘This may not be the best situation that I'm in right now, but this is what I have, and on this rock I can build my church.’”

Tell us about your favorite WIRED stories and magazine-related memories. Write to samantha_spengler@wired.com, and include “CLASSICS” in the subject line.