Poisonous snakes - A pet peeve of mine.

[mainbutter]

Forgive my ignorance. I'm a snake rookie. But I have a thought and a question.
1. This seems to be a snooty, exclusionary objection to those who may not be as informed as you. It is very petty. People use two words interchangeably because for all intents and purposes, they mean the same thing. Should a person come in contact with poison or venom, they could be in serious danger.

2. Since snake venom, in many cases, is poisonous to humans, then snakes are poisonous, right? Consider a spitting cobra. If it spits on your mouth And you swallow it, you die.

Like I said, I think you're just looking for something to be annoyed by.

From Wikipedia:

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that cause disturbances to organisms,[1] usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. The fields of medicine (particularly veterinary) and zoology often distinguish a poison from a toxin, and from a venom. Toxins are poisons produced by some biological function in nature, and venoms are usually defined as toxins that are injected by a bite or sting to cause their effect, while other poisons are generally defined as substances absorbed through epithelial linings such as the skin or gut.

Some venoms can be poisonous. Other are not. Both venoms and poisons are toxic (and, inherently, toxins). As a scientist, I care about proper terminology, particularly my own, and reprimand myself when I get it wrong all the time. We all make mistakes.

However, I find it to be a great sin to ignore proper terminology and continue to use phrases and terms incorrectly (particularly when talking about science!) when presented with the correct usage. Purposeful ignorance is not to be tolerated.