That is exactly what Adam Martinson from Calgary University is trying to find out. He is working on his masters degree in Utah studying just why snakes slither unto the road and get smushed flat. He found out the snake is attracted to the heat absorbed by the asphalt, but it isn't smart enough to move out of the way when a car approaches. The rattlers coil themselves up in a defensive posture and shake their tails to warn off the danger, but it's not much use against a 18 wheeler. A study in SC found that more than 80% of rattlesnakes that tried to cross the road were killed in just one day. The python in this photo form Thailand is crossing the road, and fortunately, he made it safe. (Afterwards, he probably ate the man who took this photo.) Studies like these really fascinate me. In a totally different study, German scientists in Munich made itty-bitty eyeglasses for house flies and studied how they reacted. Then there is that ground breaking study where the medical community revealed that doing drugs and alcohol at the same time is bad for you. Probably best of all is the United Nations study on my there are so many studies and if the results are worth studying.
