Snake Manu Pulls Live Cobras Through His Nose

C. Manoharan from India has earned the nickname "Snake Manu" for one of the most bizarre and dangerous performance acts imaginable: he puts live snakes into his mouth and pulls them out through his nose. Yes, you read that correctly—through his nose.

His favorite snakes? Baby cobras. According to Snake Manu himself, he prefers baby cobras because they're "lightning fast and extremely poisonous." He's also performed the act with common kraits, sand boas, and rat snakes.

How It Started

Snake Manu discovered his unusual talent as a teenager. He began by entertaining classmates with a simpler trick: inserting pieces of chalk through his nose and pulling them out through his mouth. When he turned 18, he decided to escalate things dramatically.

His first attempt involved a half-dead water snake. After successfully maneuvering it through his nasal passages, he continued experimenting with different species, eventually working his way up to venomous cobras.

The Anatomy of an Extreme Act

The human nasal cavity connects to the throat through the nasopharynx, which explains how this is anatomically possible—though that doesn't make it any less dangerous or disturbing. Snake Manu inserts thin snakes through his nostrils and guides them down into his throat, then pulls them out through his mouth, or reverses the process.

The risks are extraordinary. Beyond the obvious danger of handling venomous snakes, forcing objects through nasal passages can cause:

• Severe tissue damage to delicate nasal membranes
• Infections from bacteria on the snakes' bodies
• Potential bites inside the mouth or throat
• Respiratory complications

Not His First Record

Before becoming famous for his snake act, Snake Manu had already earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for "most worms eaten in 30 seconds." He managed to consume 200 live earthworms, each measuring more than 10 centimeters long, in half a minute.

Clearly, this is a man with a high tolerance for the deeply uncomfortable.

Snake Manu's performances have gained international attention, though they remain controversial. Animal welfare advocates raise concerns about the stress placed on the snakes, while medical professionals warn about the severe health risks to the performer himself.

But Snake Manu continues his act, pushing the boundaries of what seems humanly—and safely—possible. His performances serve as a bizarre testament to human determination, even when that determination involves threading venomous reptiles through your sinuses.