We watched on a kitchen cam as the handler lopped off the head with a pair of jumbo scissors, sparking its writhing death throes, before it lay still. Shortly thereafter, a beaming Mr. Hu emerged from the kitchen bearing a glass with the cobra head and another containing its crimson blood. He stated that the blood would need to age in liquor for five days before it was ready to be drunk. Our pre-dinner show had concluded. more ›

One of the first idioms you learn in Chinese class is "Hua She Tian Zu 画蛇添足," which tells the story of a man who lost a snake drawing contest by painting feet on his picture and means something along the lines of "adding too much to something ruins it." Well, this guy probably wouldn't lose the contest in this day in age now that a snake with a foot has been discovered in Southwest China. A 66-year-old woman named Duan in Suining found "this monster" crawling along her wall. Mrs. Duan then grabbed a shoe, beat the snake to death and threw its carcass into a bottle of alcohol to preserve it. We wonder what other Chinese idioms will be rendered moot by weird mutations. Source: Telegraph UK more ›