Ah. The
Great Northwest. The wild
sea. The beautiful ocean.
Running along the coastal side of Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska is an area of thriving marine life. Many research opportunities and hands-on expierence in the field of biology exist for those who seek it.
Of course, beneath its waves lurks a terror. No...not Great Cthulhu...nah...it's not the ship from Sphere. It's a bit more subtle.
It's a common jellyfish.
The tale begins on brisk and sunny day on the Pacific. Mr. *(name removed) gazes out upon the ocean, preparing for another long session of manual labor. It's his job to go sorting through the hundreds of jellyfish caught today, picking them up with his bare hands, finding good samples, andfilling them crates - typical grunt labor.
With the work being intensive, and so much having to be done, Mr. *(name removed) can not simply take bathroom breaks. Instead, he simply urinates off the edge of the boat to help relieve the ship's overused bathroom of his prescence.
His system of bodily fluid management seemed flawless. How could anything go wrong? He was working more efficiently, waiting less, and helping others do their business faster. Dodging the needless line seemed like a genius ploy. One day though, his reckless time saving would catch up to him. After handeling a large batch of the little spineless bastards, Mr *(name removed) decided it would be an appropriate momment to relieve himself.
...I'd like to interrupt this story with...well...a little fact about jellyfish. Jellyfish belong to the kingdom Cnidaria, and capture food with stingers called nematocysts. Their stingers, although feeling like nothing more than the smallest prick on your hand (if even noticeable at all), are constantly being stuck into you whenever you handle them. In these stingers are neurotoxins - among other nasty things. These neurotoxins are injected into you (which could lead to discomfort, paralysis, or even death), but in most situations your body can shrug off the poison (because of its low concentration).
After a sigh of relief, Mr. *(name removed)'s eyes dilated, and his breath froze. Immediately followed were several weeks worth of incredible burning pain.
So...to all those noders out there who are above the
washing of hands, remember the tale of Mr. *(name removed). Also remember, that the opportunity for
infection when contacting anything with the region (or any for that matter) is extremelly higher for those who do not take part in the standards of
sanitation.
* I removed the name of this poor, unfortunate, helpless
soul because it's most likely not something he would like to have a lasting
legacy of. Would one like to go down in history as "that one guy that touched his
member after handling
jellyfish?"