Florida Man Finds THIS Hiding in His Broccoli —And It Nearly Ended in Disaster (2 of 3)

A baby cobra. In his broccoli.

Oscar froze, gripping the counter’s edge until his knuckles whitened. He’d seen snakes in his yard before—small garter snakes, harmless black racers—but nothing with a hood, nothing that sent a deep, instinctive jolt of fear straight through his chest.

Moving slowly, he took two steps back and reached for his phone. His hands were shaking so badly that it took three tries to find his sister Anne-Marie’s number.

“Anne,” he said, his voice unsteady, “I need you to come over. Now. I’m… not very good with snakes.”

At first, she thought he was joking. But when he sent a photo—a close-up of the tiny serpent nestled in the green folds—she was in her car before he could finish explaining.

Oscar kept his eyes locked on the broccoli, terrified to lose sight of the snake. The kitchen felt unnaturally quiet except for the faint sound of the creature shifting inside the bag. He couldn’t help imagining the alternative: what if he hadn’t noticed it? What if it had slithered into the pantry, or worse, into his bedroom?

Within minutes, Anne-Marie arrived. She stayed in the doorway, just as startled as her brother. “Oh, Oscar,” she muttered, “that’s not a garden snake.”

They knew they needed backup. Animal control was called, and an officer arrived equipped with gloves, a snake hook, and a calmness Oscar envied. The officer confirmed it was indeed a baby cobra—venomous, but thankfully sluggish from its accidental journey.

According to the officer, the snake had likely been hiding in the broccoli field where it was harvested, bagged, and shipped thousands of miles before ending up in Florida. “It’s rare,” he said, “but not impossible. Produce travels a long way.”

Oscar shuddered at the thought. The broccoli had probably been sitting in a box truck, in storage, on display in the store—and through it all, the cobra had been right there, unseen, waiting.

Later, when the danger was gone, Oscar and Anne-Marie sat at the kitchen table, still a little shaken. “I was lucky I spotted it in time,” he said quietly. “Otherwise it would have been loose in the house.”