That was truly cringe-worthy.
I've always known them as "Jumping Cactus" because they seem to jump out and get ya. All it takes is getting stuck with one little spine and that will pull the whole plant toward you and suddenly you are covered.
When riding a horse or dirtbike you really need to keep an eye on the ground... don't forget to look up for Joshua Trees too. I still have a hard lump in my scalp from my horse sidestepping me into a damn Joshua.
I haven't heard the term "jumping cactus" since my dirt bike days ended
I was hunting javelina in Arizona the last time I had a problem with cholla.
I stumbled slightly and ended up with an end piece broken off and stuck to the end of my index finger
It doesn't sound like much of a problem, but . . .
I couldn't "grab' it to pull it off because it had spines sticking out in all directions
I couldn't move my hand because any movement caused the barbs to hold on one side of my finger while the spines were driven deeper in the other side
I was standing in the middle of the San Carlos Indian reservation, with my hand held out, and my finger pointed toward the ground
I stood there for an "eternity" before I figured out a way to "free"myself
I swung my arm in a windmill fashion faster and faster until the centrifugal force broke the spines from the plant
At that point I could pull the individual spines out
However, my hunting trip was over then
My finger was trashed
My hand was full of bruising where the capillaries had been damaged by the blood being forced into my hand by the centrifugal force
I got drunk and camped for a couple of more days
I HATE cholla
Peace,
dave