How many snakes on the plane?

Many have wondered just how many people could fit into a phone booth, or a Volkswagon Bug, but a man was caught recently who, it appears, was trying to discover just how many snakes he could smuggle onto a plane.

A man was detained on Thursday at customs in Cairo when he attempted to pass security for a flight bound for Saudi Arabia. Airport officials said the man was trying to smuggle 700 living snakes on board.

When customs officials stopped the man, Yahia Rahim Tulba, and asked him to open his carry-on bag for inspection, he replied that it was full of live snakes.

Ever polite, Tulba told police to stay back and keep others away as he opened the bag to display the snakes inside. Among the 700 creatures in the luggage there were two poisonous cobras being kept inside small cloth bags.

Tulba said he was planning on selling the snakes in Saudi Arabia. Instead, the snakes were confiscated and the man is being held on charges of export violations and endangering the lives of passengers.