For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.
People are funny about snakes.
I remember being taught the rhyme, red touches black, you're okay, Jack.
Red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow.
In elementary school,
Never mind the fact that we absolutely did not have coral snakes in New Jersey.
My guest today has spent a lot of time exploring our cultural aversion to and fascination with snakes.
Stephen S. Hall is a science writer and the author of seven books.
He's also a teacher of science communication at New York University,
Rockefeller University, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
His latest book, How Nature's Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World, is on sale now.
Thank you so much for coming in to chat.
I'm really looking forward to it.
My pleasure to be here.
Thank you.
First question why snakes?
There's several answers to that question.
One of them is that as a kid, like many kids, I caught snakes, brought them home,
put them in terrariums in the garage until my mother screamed when they would get loose,
and that sort of ended that experiment.