Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling has called mosquitoes the scariest animals in the world. He has a point.
David Gannon/AFP via Getty Images; Paul Sarosta/Getty Images
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David Gannon/AFP via Getty Images; Paul Sarosta/Getty Images
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling has called mosquitoes the scariest animals in the world. He has a point.
David Gannon/AFP via Getty Images; Paul Sarosta/Getty Images
Ryan Gosling, appears triumphant as a man who looks like Beavis but not Beavis on Saturday night livehas proven that he has a keen Ken…er…understanding of animal subjects.
This week he joined Colbert Askert, hosted by Stephen Colbert Late show. One question: “What is the scariest animal?”
First he answered “man.” Well, who can argue? But then he pivoted and named the mosquito.
Ding ding ding!
As Goat and Soda have noted in previous stories, mosquitoes are in fact the most dangerous animals on earth.
Here’s how we rate deadly animals:
“Sharks get a lot of press attention. But they are overrated as killers. According to the report International shark attack profile, managed by the Florida Shark Research Program, the total number of confirmed “unprovoked” bites in 2022 was 57 – down from an average of 70 a year between 2017-2021. Five people died after an attack in 2022.
“Snakes easily eclipse sharks with their deadly numbers: World Health Organization estimates that 5.4 million people each year are bitten by snakes, with 81,000 to 138,000 deaths annually.
“However, that is still nothing compared to mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can carry parasites that cause many diseases: dengue fever, zika… and malaria.
“Females of the genus Anopheles can feed on infected humans or animals and ingest the malaria parasite, which passes through the bug’s blood and eventually into its salivary glands. The bug then bite, secreting infectious – and potentially deadly – fluids.
“UNICEF reports that ‘In 2021, there were 247 million cases of malaria globally, resulting in a total of 619,000 deaths. Of these deaths, 77% were in children under 5 years old.’
“That makes the tiny mosquito the most dangerous animal on the planet.
“And the insects seem to be expanding their range.
“In 2023, there were some cases of local transmission [of malaria] in the United States, something that has not happened often since the massive campaign to exterminate malaria-carrying mosquitoes in the 1940s and 1950s. This year’s malaria victims have not traveled abroad. Do mosquitoes in the US bite people with malaria during a trip abroad – then bite and infect Americans? Or do warmer temperatures mean malaria-carrying mosquitoes can thrive in previously inhospitable areas? The jury is still out on these specific cases in the US – although climate change experts say mosquitoes are actually expanding their range as temperatures rise.”
So congratulations to you, Ryan Gosling.
PS We also think you answered the “best sandwich” question correctly. The answer: ice cream sandwiches. Duh, of course!
