Other Animal (But Non-Buggy) Crackers

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Impossible: Cowboy dies of a sudden, unexplained affliction. Son inherits his boots; the first time he puts them on (years later), he drops dead. Investigation reveals a rattlesnake fang penetrating the sole of the boot; the snake bit and killed the father, its fang broke off in the boot, and later when the son put the boot on the fang "bit" him too, killing him.

Rattlesnake venom simply doesn't have the chemical stability required for the boot story. How long the venom can retain its potency varies with the conditions, but as a rule, as soon as it dries out it has lost most of its potency. Versions of this story are often told with multi-year intervals between the deaths (which sometimes span many generations before the fatal fang is discovered). The story has been traced essentially unchanged to the eighteenth century.

True: Dead rattlesnakes can bite.

Dead rattlesnakes can, however, continue to bite. Their striking reflex is just that---a reflex, largely driven by "reflex arcs" of nerves that don't require the assistance of a brain to do their work. The present author has seen the body of a rattlesnake strike accurately at the point where it was touched, even though the snake had been dead for close to an hour and was decapitated, skinned, and eviscerated.

It is also thought that even the severed head of a snake takes a significant time to die; once removed from the body it is understandably upset and perfectly capable of biting an unwary hand.

Cite: Klauber, L. Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories and Influence on Mankind. Abridged edition pub. University of California Press, ISBN 0520040392.

References:

• snopes page on "The Fatal Reboot".
• Veterinary opinion on survival time of decapitated reptiles.