- Right now, we are
searching these tide pools off the coast of Eastern Australia for the most toxic fish on the planet. The stonefish is notorious for having the most painful
sting in all of nature. And today, I'm going to
get stung by a stonefish. But first, we've gotta find one. Let's get looking. It's gonna be very hard
to find the stonefish because in addition to
their legendary sting, they are masters of hiding. The key to this is going
to be to move slow, methodically, and to not
step on the stonefish. You could be looking right at stonefish and not even realize it. That's why so many people
step on them by accident. But stonefish are all
we have to look out for. This isn't the only animal
that could do you harm here in the tide pools off of Australia. We also have cone snails
and the blue-ring octopus, one of the most lethal
creatures in the world. And not only is it risky
just being out here, but we also have to beat the clock. The tide is coming in fast, and this whole area is about
to be completely underwater. So if we wanna catch a stonefish, we need to do that before it happens. Everything looks exactly the same. This is gonna be tough. (exhales) (footstep splashes) (tense music) Oh! Right there. (heartbeat thumping)
You see it moving? That is the stonefish. And I never would've seen that fish if it didn't give itself away by moving. Holy smokes. Now these fish are so toxic, they don't really have a flight response. I'm gonna attempt to catch the most toxic fish in the
world with my bare hands. All right, here we go. (exhales) (tense music) (exhales) Wow. There it is. That is the stonefish. Look at that tide pool monster. I can't believe we found one. I mean, it looks like a living rock. I never would've spotted
this fish if it didn't move. The fact that it swam a little bit there is the only reason I was
able to catch this fish. And you could see how docile this fish is. It knows just how toxic it can be. Wow! But the table is set for what will be likely the worst sting I ever take. Placing the stonefish in
the tank hit my nerves hard. I'm about to get stung by a stonefish. Stonefish stings are said to be one of the most painful
experiences a human can endure. And I've already experienced my fair share of fish stings. One from the most common fish
sting, which is the lionfish. Ugh! Oh! And the other from the scorpion fish, which is the most toxic
fish sting in North America. (groans) Yeah, he got me. Oh. Each sting was painful, but I was certainly able to tough it out with basic treatment. However, each of those fish
fall far short of the danger from the stonefish. Not every day you get to carry around the world's most toxic fish in a tank. This fish might just have the worst sting in the entire animal kingdom. (dramatic music)
(exhales) Man. My nerves are firing right now. Just looking at this fish
is so incredibly cool. Look at all the growths all over its body. Definitely earns its name, the stonefish, a master of camouflage. All right, let's go hands-on
once again with the stonefish. The reason I can handle this fish is because it can only sting
from the spines on top. Wow, this fish has developed the most potent fish toxin in the world. The toxin is only to defend itself. Unfortunately, as you
can see, it is so docile that it's very easy for
people to step on these fish. And that is the most common way people are stung by the stonefish. The toxin of this fish not only
induces extraordinary pain, it can actually cause muscle
spasms and eventual paralysis. And there have even been reported deaths from stonefish stings. But now I think it's time to see how this fish injects its venom. I'm going to just pour out this water. Gonna use this little
tank here as a platform. This fish is perfectly fine being out of the water for
extended periods of time 'cause they've adapted the ability to actually hold water in their gills. It's not uncommon to see stonefish just laying on the rocks
in these tide pools. So in the little bit of time that we have it here in front
of the cameras, totally fine. All right, so I brought
with me a piece of neoprene. I'm going to use this piece
of neoprene to simulate skin so I can show you what would happen if you stepped on the stonefish. This animal has the
ability to fire its venom into the wound created by its spine. That's why people who are envenomated and step on these stonefish, end up in such a bad situation. It's not only that it's
the most toxic venom, it's that you also get the most volume. Look at how sharp that spine is. Okay, in order to do this properly, I do need to get out some eye protection. So I'm gonna do that quickly. This venom, it has enough toxin in it to cause vision problems
and perhaps even blindness. All right, let's see in slow motion how these spines inject venom. (tense music) We'll do these top two guys, ready? Did they go? One, two, three. Oh, wow! Look at that. And it's like blue. Holy cow, look at how much venom
just came out of that fish. And let's do another one.
Do that one more time. Oh, my gosh, guys, the spines are blue. And once those spines are out, they stay out and they're ready to defend. All right, let me try these
spines on the back here. (tense music) One, two, three. (venom booms) Wow, that is what would
be inside of your foot if you were to step on a stonefish. Now, it will regenerate its venom. This doesn't hurt the fish at all. And you can see these sheaths
will just slide right back up. But holy cow, I gotta take a minute and
process what I just saw. Oh, that is bad. I won't lie. I'm getting
pretty nervous right now. This is something you should never do. I've consulted experts,
people who have been stung. I've done my research,
I've done my homework, but even still, I am extremely nervous about
what is about to happen. It said that this is the most
painful sting in the world. (exhales) Wish me luck. The moment has come. It's time to be stung by
the world's most toxic fish. I am borderline terrified. I have thought long and hard about whether or not to
even go through with this, but I'm doing this today because through my
research on the stonefish, I have found a lot of
misinformation out there. There is a lot of stories that pretty much describe certain death if you're stung by a stonefish. And that's just simply not the case. While this toxin in the base of its spines is extremely potent, it is thermolabile. So if treated properly, and if needed with medical attention, you will survive the sting of a stonefish. Most of the victims that end up dying from stonefish stings has more to do
(monitor beeping) with the pain and shock that
leads to cardiac arrest. This venom is meant to cause you pain. But I have brought the antidote with me today. A thermos filled with hot water that's around 114 degrees Fahrenheit, a compress to hold over the wound. And then, of course, if I do go into any state
of anaphylactic shock, I always carry with me an EpiPen. We are about three minutes
drive from an emergency room. So even if the worst case
scenario does unfold today, I should have plenty of time to be able to get to
emergency medical attention. All right, my plan today is to take a micro dose
of stonefish venom. The venom from that neoprene trial is already coating the spikes, so they're locked and loaded, ready to go. When it's all said and done, this should be just
extraordinarily painful for me and hopefully very educational for you. This is going to likely be the
worst sting that I ever take. I'm Mark Vins, and I'm about to enter the
sting zone with the stonefish, the most toxic fish in the world. All right, I'm gonna go
with this front spine here. Ready? This spine on three. (dramatic music) One, two, three. (tense music) Ugh! Mm. Yup. Mm. (exhales) I already feel burn. I could feel it spreading
up my finger right now. And it does not feel good. Wow. The tide is coming in. All right, here, let's, mm. Hang on. Mm. Let's move outta here. The tide's rolling. - You okay, Mark?
- Yeah. Hang on. I'm gonna come over here. Andrew, put the fish
back at the tank, man. Mm, oh! Right there is where the spine went in. God! Immediate fire
spreading up my fingers. I could already feel it
into these three. (groans) - [Director] Do you need
help, Mark? Or are you okay? - No, I'm okay. I'm okay right now. (groans) It's like a
different magnitude of pain. It is like throbby, achy. (groans) Hang on, I gotta walk it off. (exhales) Yeah. (exhales) We're gonna try to tough
it out for a little bit. I wanna see how far the venom spreads before I start applying the first aid. This is borderline unbearable. (groans) Oh, my gosh. (groans) - [Director] Let me know when
you need the water, Mark. (Mark exhaling) I'm just like, it's making me nervous. (Mark groans) Oh, my gosh. Yeah, definitely drew
a little bit of blood. Oh, and it is hot. It's like closing my hand
is becoming hard. Mm. Yeah, it's spreading. It's like all up the back
of my hand now. (groans) (exhales) I think I need to
go for the hot water, guys. I don't want this to spread anymore. I'm going in the hot water. (Mark groans) Here we go. Stonefish is good. Now I need to fix myself. So this hot water will
actually stop the venom from working and should help my pain. Mm. Every bit as painful as advertised. I never wanna do that again. And I need to get more
hot water on this sting and hopefully the pain subsides, but it's still increasing for me. Tingling pain continued to build and spread up through my
shoulder all the way to my neck. Even a month after the sting, I still have numbness and
tingles in my fingers. The immediate pain wasn't enough
to send me to the hospital, but as you release the stonefish, I could imagine what would happen if a full load of its venom
were to go in my foot. That instance would send you
directly to the hospital. And if you're ever stung, please, you should seek medical
attention as soon as possible. Needless to say, the stonefish certainly
lives up to the legend of being the most painful
fish on the planet. (sound effect clunking)
