During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

A general view of the Cathedral on the Blood on November 2, 2011 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Yekaterinburg is one of thirteen cities proposed as a host city for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. (Photo by Harry Engels/Getty Images)

People leave a giant air purifier, which its inventor calls a “super tree”, in Lima's district of Jesus Maria November 24, 2014. In Peru's notoriously polluted capital Lima, local inventor Jorge Gutierrez, a retired naval engineer, is deploying the giant air purifiers that double as billboards to suck up carbon dioxide and dangerous levels of smog. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

This diver almost got sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton. But far from staring into the jaws of death – the shark, which are the sea's largest fish, is actually vegetarian. The relieved diver escaped from the encounter unscathed and continued to enjoy the presence of the incredibly docile animals. The stunning photograph, by Mauricio Handler, was taken during a feeding session where more than 600 of the huge creatures gathered to feed on tuna spawn. (Photo by Mauricio Handler/Daily Mail/Solent)

Udomsak Ratanotayo, left, and Suttinan Boonsomkiat wear storm trooper costumes while donating blood at the Thai Red Cross in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday, April 28, 2014. Thai Star Wars fans will donate blood and give toys at an orphanage as part of a promotional campaign. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

A woman spits red paint as if it is blood protesting against bullfights in Madrid, Spain on March 27, 2016. Anti-bullfighting protesters have turn the iconic square of “Puerta del Sol” into a bullring. Protesters, almost naked covered with red paint as if it was blood, have demanded the abolition of bullfights under the slogan “The bull suffers!”. (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/Pacific Press)

A protester, wearing a dress in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, is detained by security after she covered herself in fake blood on the stairs on the Festival Palace ahead of the screening of the film “Acide” during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. (Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP Photo)

Cattle are the most important way of livelihood for the Karamojong: they provide milk, meat, blood and money when sold, Karamoja, Uganda, February 2017. (Photo by Sumy Sadurni/Barcroft Images)