Missouri’s Great Escaped Snake Scare of 1953 – Atlas Obscura
In 1953, Springfield, Missouri, was a city of about 65,000 people and at least 11 escaped Indian cobras slithering loose on the streets.
Between August and October, at least 11 of the snakes were either killed or captured in Springfield, much to the alarm of residents, many of whom fought back with a common gardening tool.
While a local pet shop was always suspected to be the source of the snakes, its owner denied any involvement. It would be 35 years until the person who set the reptiles free came forward.
The first cobra was spotted in a yard on August 15; the homeowner quickly killed it with his garden hoe. A week later, the same thing happened across the street. The police were called, and a local science teacher identified the species, native to a region thousands of miles away.
Finally, the hoe gets the credit it deserves. I once killed a gigantic rattlesnake with a hoe because I thought he was threatening my young family, which he or she probably was. A more efficient tool for killing snakes has not been invented.