this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
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Funny: Home of the Haha

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[–] paddirn 45 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Electricity was discovered around 600 bc, electric eels weren’t discovered til the 1740s (named in 1766). Natives in South America likely interacted with them, but we don’t have any records of what they called them. Most likely though we would’ve named them something to do with lightning if we hadn’t figured out electricity when we found them.

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/discover-what-electric-eels-called-before-electricity/

[–] Donkter 66 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, your article was pretty lazily written. IDK how they even got away with it. It took me about 5 seconds of googling to find that indigenous people in Venezuela called them "Arimna" or “something that deprives you of motion.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/09/electric-eel-three-species-what-a-shock/597709/

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Are you suggesting a blog posted on a-z-animals.com is not a reliable source for facts??

Shocked. I'm absolutely shocked.

[–] Donkter 4 points 10 months ago

Right lol. This was more of a response pointing out that the other commenter in this thread who got down voted into oblivion was actually raising a good point.

[–] marcos 3 points 10 months ago

but we don’t have any records of what they called them

It's quite likely they used to call them by a name similar to the one they call it now. It sounds nothing like "electric eel" though.

[–] quilan 22 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The German Zitteraale translates roughly to "{tremble/vibrate/shiver} eel"

[–] abadbronc 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Guy: Dude, that skinny fish just bit me!!

Friend: It didn't even touch you, pussy.

Guy: I swear to God it got me.

Friend: Got you with what, its scary fish magic?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

This /r/AskHistorians post has a nice discussion on it. While there's little in the way of records for precolonial South American names for it, one person has found the example of arimna, "that which deprives of motion".

[–] Agent641 12 points 10 months ago

Acoustic eels

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Spicy water snakes

[–] Lizardking27 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Electricity was actually named after the eels.

[–] NoSpotOfGround 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Electricity was named after amber. (Because it has a visible electrostatic effect when rubbed with a cloth.)

[–] Lizardking27 2 points 10 months ago

Pretty sure it was the eels.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Tingly enemas

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Spicy noodles.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago
[–] mfdoom 4 points 10 months ago

Gyarados obviously

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Snappy snakes

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Probably something to do with lightning or stinging - as those concepts have been around much longer than humans have been around electric eels

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Gymnotus electricus