From Alex McDowell, London, UK
Maybe metal in scorpions’ claws and stingers inspired ancient Greek myths about creatures with metallic claws and beaks. It is possible that chemists (who were thought of as magicians at the time) came up with chemical tests for metals and found traces in scorpions’ claws and stingers. In Greek mythology, the Stymphalian birds had bronze beaks, while in some versions of Greek mythology, Medusa and the other Gorgons had claws of bronze or brass (9 May, p 8).
