That was excellent advice about the Portoguese Man O War. Do not under any circumstances touch one of these bad boys. My wife thought one was pretty, so she used the flipper part of one of my dive fins to scoop one into our dinghy so she could ask me what it was. In my effort to scoop it back out of the dinghy later, I got two very tiny drops of the animal on the back of my hand.

The stinging was immediate and more intense that several silmultaneous bee stings. Even though I soaked my hand in vinigar and meat tenderizer like the books said, it continued to burn for several hours. The next day, both spots were now huge red blisters than went through all three layers of skin. The wounds took several days to scab over and heal. Both left scars.

I had no idea the poison was so potent. I now give a very wide birth to these cute little sacks of pain. It may be that my reaction was more than usual, but it definitely got my attention.