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Banana Slug Factoids and funny story

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:59 pm
by Hetchy
Okay, I am at this party in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Imagine what goes on there.. Well A friend says the Indians used the defensive slime a Banana slug produces to numb wounds.
Nobody believes it. So a slug is found and presented to the party.
And of course, "yours truly" volunteers to try the indian technique.
I touched the slug to my lips and Lo and behold! My lips are numbed! No Joke, this actually works! It is similar in effect to the topical product Dentists use to numb an area before an injection is made(I think it's called hurricane). Nobody believed me until some other crazy did the same with the same result.
Banana Slugs, or rather their slime, make a good topical anastetic.(No Banana Slugs were harmed during this experiment) :)

Factoid: Banana Slugs LOVE Dog Food.
If you put kibble out for them, they mob it.
You can actually hear them munching on the stuff.
Of course I have probably angered the animal rights people at having aided in a Banana Slugs deviant desire for Dog kibble... I might have spawned a new generation of slugs...
Just imagine.. Hordes of man habituated Banana slugs knocking down front doors and mauling pet dogs to get at their Kibbles and Bits! :D

Then there is the sale of the horse ranch.
The previous owner had a singular sense of humor.
While on a tour of the 25 acre property with the real estate agent and two prospective buyers they happened upon a Banana Slug in the middle of the horse trail.
The Owner shouted, "Look Out! Don't get near it!"
The buyers(east coast folks) jumped back. One of the buyers timidly asked, "Is there an issue here?"
To which the owner replied," No, but it might chase you down and bite you!"
The real estate agent rolled her eyes and stepped over the slug.
The buyers CAREFULLY stepped around the slug as if it were a rattlesnake...
The owner just smiled, very much satisfied with himself! :D

Those same clients came up to my house on the ranch and asked what the big metal tank was for. I told them it was to hold water for the house.
They truly had no idea what I was talking about even after I explained in detail how the water was pumped up from the ground, into the tank, and then pressurized through a line to the house. I still don't think the guy really believed me.
I am absolutely certain they did no get that the only way to heat the house was the wood burning stove.. which does not chop wood for itself!
Needless to say they went away and did not purchase the property. They are probably telling the story to their friends now about those crazy Californians with their backwards ways, and Viciuos Banana Slugs! :D

Re: Super Cheap Water Filter Setup ala Ray Jardine

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:47 am
by hikerduane
:) I had a flatlander neighbor who rented next to me for a year or so. She kept getting stuck in her 4X4 in the snow, until someone asked her if she was locking in the hubs. What hubs?

Re: Banana Slug Factoids and funny story

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:15 pm
by The Other Tom
Hetchy wrote: The buyers(east coast folks) jumped back. One of the buyers timidly asked, "Is there an issue here?"
Hey, we got Banana slugs over here on the east coast ! And yes, they love dog food. On more than one occasion, I've gone outside to feed the dogs at night, barefooted, and well....it wasn't pretty.

Re: Banana Slug Factoids and funny story

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:49 pm
by ERIC
The Other Tom wrote:Hey, we got Banana slugs over here on the east coast !
No joke? That's so cool! I didn't think they could be found anywhere but the Pacific NW. Looks like a Wikipedia page is in need of updating. :)

Re: Banana Slug Factoids and funny story

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:54 am
by The Other Tom
ERIC wrote:
The Other Tom wrote:Hey, we got Banana slugs over here on the east coast !
No joke? That's so cool! I didn't think they could be found anywhere but the Pacific NW. Looks like a Wikipedia page is in need of updating. :)
Opps...maybe not banana slugs (ours aren't yellow), but slugs none the less. Anyway, thanks for the correction.