Why are snakes shaped like a stick?

Moment of Um

American Public Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2025

⏱️ 5 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Snakes come in all sizes and colors, but they have one thing in common: no arms or legs! In fact, one might argue they kind of look like sticks. We asked snake expert Emily Taylor why our reptilian neighbors are twig-shaped.

Got a question that’s slithering around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll promise we won’t throw a hisssss-y fit!

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the brains behind brains on, this is the Moment of Um. And guess what? It's Snake Week.
0:09.7	Um, um, um, um, um. Moment of Um comes to you from APM Studios. I'm C C C the Dog and I'm fetching.
0:18.0	Um. I love playing fetch.
0:22.4	Seriously, it's the best game ever.
0:24.4	Bob throws the stick, it goes swish,
0:26.6	swish, swish through the air,
0:28.0	then I find it, and I bring it back.
0:30.4	Every time it's like a whole new game,
0:33.1	will she throw it really hard,
0:34.5	will she fake me out and throw a bunch of nothing,
0:37.1	will I pretend to bring it back to her and then run away with it?
0:39.9	Who knows?
0:41.5	Okay, here we go.
0:42.8	Come on, Mum.
0:43.6	Just throw it already.
0:44.9	Yes, yes.
0:45.9	Wait, where is it?
0:47.2	I thought she threw it over here in the weeds, but I can't find it.
0:50.0	Oh, here it is.
0:51.5	I think you are mistaken.
0:55.3	I'm Esther, and I'm a snake.
0:58.8	Whoa, sorry. I thought you were a stick.
	...

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