Adults, beware this age-old problem: the childhood tendency to take your words literally. That's what's happened to one poor bloke in Palm Harbor, Florida. After a particularly nasty losing streak, the coach of a high school baseball team told his players they were "snake-bitten" and needed to turn themselves around. The team thought they might just end their losing streak if they beat a cowering serpent into submission--literally--and buried it in their pitcher's mound. So they did. Coach apparently wasn't around when the alleged incident took place (the snake carcass has yet to be found) but he has been temporarily relieved of his duties. While we commiserate with the poor snake, we're just glad the coach didn't call his team a bunch of kittens.
"Fla. baseball team kills snake to stop losing," Associated Press, April 9, 2009
"PHU players kill, bury snake to stop losing streak," by Bob Putnam, St. Petersburg Times, April 9, 2009