Death, Sex & Money Death, SNAKES & Money
May 12, 2026
Tim Friede, a self-taught experimenter who deliberately exposed himself to snake venoms to help create better antivenom. He recounts why he pursued immunity, the risks and near-death moments of decades of self‑experimentation, and how his blood later fueled research toward a universal antivenom. Short, strange, and unsettling stories about sacrifice, obsession, and scientific boldness.
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Man Bit 200 Times To Build Immunity
- Tim Friede turned his body into a long-term experiment, allowing himself to be bitten over 200 times to build immunity to snake venom.
- He worked odd jobs and kept dozens of deadly snakes in a plexiglass-lined basement lab while raising a family.
Antivenom Still Stuck In 1890s
- Current antivenom production still uses 19th-century method: inject horses and harvest antibodies, creating species-specific and allergic-risk treatments.
- Tim saw this as a solvable, neglected global problem that kills ~120,000 people yearly.
Reckless Escalation Led To ICU Stay
- In grief after a friend's death Tim started injecting and diluting venoms with needles, which escalated into reckless exposure.
- A September 12th cobra episode left him paralyzed, in ICU four days, rescued by zoo antivenom intervention.