In what sounds like an attempt to become a supervillain and finally take down Spider-Man, a man has been allowing snakes to bite him for about 18 years, only he’s doing it for a good cause.
As The New York Times reports, 57-year-old Tim Friede‘s effort make himself immune to snake venom with purposeful injections and bites could lead to what scientist believe may be the key to developing a universal antivenom.
“I’m really proud that I can do something in life for humanity, to make a difference for people that are 8,000 miles away, that I’m never going to meet, never going to talk to, never going to see, probably,” Friede says.
Friede’s lifelong fascination with snakes led to his experiments, which have not gone without what we’ll generously call hiccups. Those include going into a coma and a furious now-former wife.
As scientists study Friede’s blood, he hasn’t had a snake bite since 2018. As the Times puts it, Friede “misses the snakes … but not the painful bites.”