On the morning of 28 July, 1950, Kevin Budden walked up to a roadside in Queensland, Australia with several feet of angry snake coiled around his arm, and flagged down a truck.

Budden, aged 20, was already an experienced snake handler, who specialised in collecting venomous species. The era of venom research in Australia was just taking off, and men like Budden were instrumental in capturing the serpents that scientists used to make antivenoms.

The taipan was high on his list. Its brown body grows up to 3 metres long and its yellow head can deliver one of the most potent venoms of any snake. At the time, there was no antivenom.

But by now, Budden’s hand was cramped and sweaty. His