The Adventure of the Speckled Band the snake wrong, a theory that the swamp adder was an artificial hybrid between the Mexican Gila monster ("Heloderma suspectum") and "Naja naja". His speculation suggests that Doyle might have hidden a double-meaning in Holmes' words. What Holmes said, reported by Watson, was "It is a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India"; but Klauber suggested what Holmes really said was "It is a "samp-aderm", the deadliest skink in India." "Samp-aderm" can be translated "snake-Gila-monster": "Samp" is Hindi for snake, and the suffix "aderm" is derived from "heloderm", the common or vernacular name of the Gila monster generally used by
The Food of the Gods (short story) The Food of the Gods (short story) "The Food of the Gods" is a science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1964. It was subsequently published as part of a short story collection "The Wind from the Sun" in 1972. The title is in reference to "ambrosia", the mythical food of the ancient Greek gods and the name of the controversial food product discussed in this story. The title could also be seen as a tribute to the novel "The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth" by H. G. Wells.