> One thing that randomly sticks in my head is he said the Ethiopians were there most beautiful people in the world because they drank so much coffee, but beyond Ethiopia the land is uninhabitable because of all the flying snakes.

Maybe a thirdhand accounts of the flying snake (?)

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/fl...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16aGSx9gFO4