Anyone attending Michael Richards’s pharmacy in the Manorom Hospital in the northeastern part of Chainat Province, Thailand, in the early 1960s could not have failed to notice the row of 27 jars of snakes — tails coiled around the base, heads reared up — preserved in formaldehyde. There were at least 48 poisonous varieties in Thailand, among them vipers, cobras and oriental whipsnakes, and without urgent attention a bite could rapidly lead to death.
What was crucial was linking the correct antivenom to the bite — a cobra antivenom for a cobra bite and so on — which involved an accurate identification of the aggressor. In Michael’s experience, it was best for the victim to simply point at the reptile identity parade filling the jars
