Gizmodo: snakes

Deadly Viper Killed by iRobot Roomba

Kat Hannaford — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

There are worse things to worry about in the Middle East than a robotic vacuum cleaner, but to the viper who thought it'd be a cozy place to sleep, it proved to be the end of his violent, snakey existence.

The vipera palaestinae, as his parent snake gods christened him, had wound himself so tightly inside the iRobot Roomba that it died of head wounds. The Roomba? Well, it's back to a life of giving kittens free rides and not cleaning corners correctly. [Facebook via BotJunkie]

ATM Card Skimmers Go Low-Tech, Start Using Pythons

Rosa Golijan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:40:00 EDT

I used to worry about card skimmers in ATMs, but now I have a new nightmare: pythons. Six-and-a-half foot pythons like this one which was lurking in an ATM in Nis, Serbia.

According to authorities, no one has claimed ownership of the reptile just yet, but you can't really blame the owner: he or she will be punished for negligence. [Fox Charlotte]

Wakey Wakey, Hands On Snakey, It's the Twist Torch from Brando

AddyDugdale — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:23:00 EDT

Measuring 81 centimeters, this Twist Torch from Brando can be bent into any shape you wish. The more brutal amongst you may even use it to perform home endoscopies, and the more fashion-conscious may wish to wear it as a necktie at your club so that the steward doesn't throw you out for being incorrectly dressed. The pervy may want to stick it where the sun don't shine and make Innerspace-esque videos, the DIY geek may want to light up murky little crannies with it, and the plain loco may want to sit it in a basket, play namby-pamby music on a recorder, and wait for it to sit up and start swaying.

All this craziness in a tube will cost you $11. [Brando]

Robot Snakes Scare the Indy Out of Me

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:40:00 EST

Unlike Indiana Jones, I generally don't hate snakes. But seeing these modular mechanical snakes wriggling up some dude's leg gave me shivers. The video gets scarier still when they start climbing walls and shimmying up the inside of pipes. According to the Carnegie Mellon-based developers, the elaborate "gaits" that let these robot snakes maneuver on land and sea are achieved using low-cost hobby-grade servos. So before you kick sand in the face of some pasty Carnegie Mellon nerd at the Jersey Shore this summer, remember he may have a backpack full of cheap, wriggly killing machines. [CM on YouTube via Make]