On St. Patrick's Day, here's the scientific reason Ireland has no snakes

(The Christian Science Monitor) With staff in hand, the fifth-century missionary St. Patrick cast all of the snakes in Ireland into the sea, never to return—at least that's the story.

The Emerald Isle is indeed one of very few places in the world without snakes, not counting the few serpents kept in zoos or as pets.

The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin has combed through the country's fossil records. As far as its researchers can tell, there's no evidence that snakes ever lived in Ireland.