Can a Venus flytrap digest human flesh?

I recently wrote about the heartening attempts of everyday people to further science in their own small ways. Embracing a rudimentary scientific method and applying it to small-scale projects is the seed from which paid-up scientists grow, and fosters a sense of curiosity about the world around us. So far, Graeme Cole has asked “How Difficult is Nailing Jelly to a Wall?”, while George Waksman continues to deduce how many licks it takes to get to the centre of a Tootsie Roll Pop. Our latest Science Punk to be featured is one Barry Rice, who wondered “can Venus flytraps digest human flesh?”.

I thought about my Venus flytraps. (You can start squirming now.) Could they digest diseased human flesh? If so, this would mean that if a person were trapped by an adequately large (giant, special-effects-monster-movie size) Venus flytrap, he or she could be digested. I figured this would be unlikely because surely the skin would be able to resist the puny enzymes from the plant. But here was a chance to prove it.

Four plants and one nasty case of Athlete’s Foot later, he has the answer. (link)

Add comment February 26th, 2007