Kicker: Man with a mission

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Ok, Myrna, you might want to step away for this one!

A man in Wisconsin opens a cage in his house, pulls out a deadly snake, and lets it bite him.

FRIEDE: (cage opens) Black Mamba.

A Black Mamba, then he does it again, with another species:

FRIEDE: PNG Taipan.

PNG Taipan. Now, don’t try this at home!

But meet Tim Friede. He’s voluntarily taken more than 200 bites from 16 of the deadliest snakes in the world…to help create a universal antivenom. Audio from CNN:

FRIEDE: I’m helping humanity.

Friede’s immune system is a scientific marvel…and he’s working with scientists who use his antibodies to create an antivenom. It’s a big deal, because every year, snake bites kill around 120,000 people, mostly in areas without access to treatment.

After one of his self-inflicted snakebites, Friede looked into the camera and said, very calmly:

FRIEDE: Thanks for watching.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.