Can You Cure a Jellyfish Sting by Peeing On It?

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0:04:50 > 0:04:57.

0:05:05 > 0:05:07Hi, everybody, and welcome to today's show.

0:05:07 > 0:05:11Let's get ready to turn up the heat on all your science questions.

0:05:11 > 0:05:15- What have we got today, BUD-E? - I'm run off me feet here, I am.

0:05:15 > 0:05:18This one just in from Anna in Buncrana.

0:05:22 > 0:05:26Ah, Anna. Jellyfish stings, a subject very close to my own legs.

0:05:26 > 0:05:28Jellyfish are found all over the planet,

0:05:28 > 0:05:31from the deepest, darkest oceans, to the beaches all around us.

0:05:31 > 0:05:33And there are loads of different species, right?

0:05:33 > 0:05:38Sea wasps, the Portuguese man-of-war, The jelly Jedward Fish...

0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Professor!- Oh!

0:05:40 > 0:05:42Now, jellyfish have very long tentacles,

0:05:42 > 0:05:45which contain millions of tiny stingers filled with nasty venom.

0:05:45 > 0:05:49If they sting, you'll know all about it! Ah!

0:05:49 > 0:05:51However, some people say that peeing on the sting

0:05:51 > 0:05:54helps to relieve the pain, as the chemicals in your pee

0:05:54 > 0:05:55prevent some stingers from firing.

0:05:55 > 0:05:59Which is why I always keep a bottle of wee to hand.

0:05:59 > 0:06:01But Professor, sometimes the chemicals in your pee

0:06:01 > 0:06:04can react badly with the chemicals of the sting.

0:06:04 > 0:06:05They might even make it worse.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07Argh!

0:06:07 > 0:06:11- But my mammy taught me it did work! - Oh, don't be silly!

0:06:11 > 0:06:14Instead, rinse the stung area with salt water

0:06:14 > 0:06:16and get an adult to remove the tentacles.

0:06:16 > 0:06:20And remember, jellyfish don't sting humans on purpose.

0:06:20 > 0:06:22So please be nice to them.

0:06:22 > 0:06:23Wargh!

0:06:23 > 0:06:26So there you go, Anna. You can't cure a jellyfish sting

0:06:26 > 0:06:27by peeing on it.

0:06:27 > 0:06:30So that's just a load of old science fiction, huh?

0:06:34 > 0:06:38I should probably get rid of this wee, will I? What'll I do with it?

0:06:38 > 0:06:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd