“I lay so still against the tree branch I was just the same everything as the tree. I was like a green mamba snake. Poison. I could be right next to you and you wouldn’t ever know it.” –Ruth May, from Barbara Kingsolver’s A Poisonwood Bible.

Here’s what I learned today: Kobe Bryant gave himself the nickname “the black mamba” after the deadly African snake. Probably everyone knows this already, but these are the little tidbits that lead to unexpected internet search journeys that make the whole business of blog-keeping worthwhile. No doubt the nickname made sense on a couple levels—the snake is “very aggressive when disturbed or confronted” and “will not hesitate to strike with deadly precision.” Were it not for the King Cobra, it would be the largest venomous snake in the world. It’s scary and it’s fast—the fastest snake in the world, capable of up to 12 miles per hour. All very obvious stuff, and completely defensible from an I’m-an-oversized-ego-athlete perspective.

But also, the Air Jordan XIX design was inspired by the black mamba after Jordan’s third and final retirement. The Zoom Kobe III sneakers released by Nike last year also come in a Black Mamba edition, black sneakers with diamond openings like snake scales, presumably. Here’s the not very effective motto: Slice through the lane like a snake on the hardwood. I get caught up on word choice—does a snake slice? How about slither? Slide? Swish? (Type “snake and slice” into Google and you end up with things like the “Silly Snake Sandwich”     ).

There’s even an entire website dedicated to Kobe Bryant’s footwear—www.kobebryantshoes.com—because some people spend a lot of time thinking about what Kobe wears on his feet.

And what does it all have to do with The Poisonwood Bible, right up there in the upper reaches of best books I’ve ever laid eyes on? Just this: the green mamba, the quiet star of that story, has venom just as deadly as the black mamba, but it’s smaller and not quite so aggressive. This is the nickname for the un-Kobe, the subtle player, laying low, striking only when necessary, but still deadly. And the green mamba’s a lot cooler looking (the black mamba, despite its name, is not actually black) and would make for one hell of a striking sneaker design. You’re welcome, Nike (and future “green mamba”).