If you're arachnophobic, don't read this.

Now, we all know that there are Third World ladies and gentlemen who eat spiders. There are people in the far east who make a meal of platefuls of a black spider about the size of a small orange or tangerine. Yes?

No doubt, too, we've all seen films of Native South Americans who go off into the woods and come back with bagfulls of giant tarantulas. The ones about the size of a small football.

Then they roast them over a fire, then yum them all up, don't they?

Well, this isn't about them.

What it's about is something I heard recently. I'm not sure if it's true.

You see, everyone has about 2000 spiders as guests in their house. Most are in the loft or down in the cellar, with some more outside in the garden.

Well, from time to time, by sheer chance, one of these spiders will get into your bed.

And also by chance, sooner or later one will run across your face when you are fast asleep.

Your physiology works in such a way that if something drops on your lips when you are asleep, your reflex action will be to lick it and draw it into your mouth and swallow it.

Which means that each of us will eat approximately eight spiders at night during our lifetime.

I reckon I must have had about five by now.

Unfortunately the ketchup was always downstairs. 8-[ 8-[ 8-[ 8-[

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All it makes me feel is a little sorry for them.

I am an "arachnophile" if there is such a word. If I see a spider where it clearly does not belong, I pick it up, and carefully put it outside.

Good for you. I try to but often just squash them.

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ROFL Candy =D>

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[edited out]

my bad. misread original post.


imagine if it were 8 per NIGHT? Then i would've downed 46,720 by now.




Yummy.

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(Emphasis mine)

Edit: Whoops, looks like you caught it about the same time that I did, sorry.

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I remember this conversation. :-?

Mmm... tastes like crab.

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The story may be bunk, but still...

Occasionally I'll have a dream where I'm chewing something and will have a bitter taste in my mouth that persists even after I wake up. I haven't yet picked any legs or antennae from between my teeth, but very disturbing nonetheless.

(Especially since I really hate bugs. There's something about them that deeply offends me as a warm-blooded mammal. My attitude toward them can be summed up thusly: "If you see a bug hole, nuke it!")

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"Well it ain't workin' now, Frank!"
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Well we get some truly enormous huntsman spiders here in Sydney. I'd hate to think I've swalled one of those - but still, I suppose they count as two.
http://home.bluepin.net.au/yallaroo/...yhuntsman2.JPG

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My cats eat all the spiders in my house - plus the flies, moths, butterflies, and any other insect that finds it's way in.

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And the touch of a world that is older

what about a funnel web?

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Thanks for that, SKY.

At least it was a good laugh for the silly season.

Actually, I didn't come across it on the internet, I saw it in an 'amazing facts' book.

By the way...what qualifies the author of your contribution to be 100% correct?

Common sense?

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I won't visit Australia in case I come face to face with an aaaaarrrggghhhh!!! ....funnel web! [-( [-X

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Yes, it was me who stirred that up, wasn't it, Candy?

I'd forgotten.

Must be getting old.

Onto my sixth spider now, in fact.

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Glad that turned out to be apparently an urban legend. Hate to think about doing in eight of those little fellows a year.

Spiders are fascinating creatures. Their webs are remarkable engineering achievements. And their coordination puts human athletes to shame.

Confirmed arachnophile here.

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One of my cats came in the house one night with a giant moth between it's teeth. It was about 4 inches accross. The thing is it was still alive!

Anybody with cats will tell you they like to keep their prey alive for as long as possible and lose interest once they are dead. He was walking about the house with the wings flapping at the side of it's mouth for about and hour. Any atempt to get close it him and put the poor creature ( the moth) out of it's missery was met with the cat running away.

When the moth died he dropped it and walked away, I went to dispose of it and got the shock of my life. I saw two eyes glowing green! I have never seen a moth this big before so I didn't know that their eyes glow green in light.

As for the spiders.....

Well there was a british nature program a few years back that looked into the habits of common house hold animals. They was night vision pictures of a spider crawling up to someones mouth whilst they were sleeping to take a drink!

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http://boinc.mundayweb.com/one/stats...630/prj:6/.png

Native s. americans... I feel like an anthropological curiosity when I hear expressions like this. :roll:

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Native South Americans?

The only tribal name I'm aware of is the Aucas.

And I don't think they were the spider gormets.

Something else has just occurred to me. Most people in Britain (and possibly the States) will have heard of our top amateur astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore. He still presents his monthly television programme 'The Sky At Night' after about 60 years.

Well, on an earlier episode, a big blue-bottle fly flew into his mouth during a live broadcast. In order not to disturb the continuity of the programme, he swallowed it.

Whether or not he later swallowed a spider to catch the fly he does not say.

Urband legend?

I'm still not convinced of that.

'There are stranger things in heaven and earth than in your philosophy..' as someone said.

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Or an even bigger AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone who acts in 'Neighbours' or some other ghastly Australian soap opera. :x :x

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Well, stay away from Scotland...that's the home of the Castle AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Probably loaded with spiders...and fish.



Find the Fish!

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It's in the elephant's trunk.

My mum was scotch.

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I'll just resurrect this thread to tell you of a spider incident I had the other day.

I took my kid up to the school. There was one of the mums plus daughter who had a spider and a suntan.

The suntan because she went to Australia for Christmas.

The spider because that's what she brought back as a souvenir.

Being one of the mums I fancy vaguely ( ops: ) I took the opportunity to speak to her. The spider was big and pink and she had it in a clear plastic food container. She said it was a Huntsman.

I asked if I could see it, and I gently prised open the lid for a closer look.

Alas, it was a windy day. A gust came along and swept the spider out (Incy-Wincy Spider??)

Guess which arachnophobic prat then had to get down and pick it up with his bare hands to stop the daughter from howling?

Luckily it was dead.

ops:

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Was it dead, because it had a big foot print on it? Just kidding.

Serious, was it dead in the box already? (I gues so, it wouldn't get blown away otherwise I think) or did it's back body "explode" as I heard happens to falling beard spiders?

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To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

Is this a good idea. . . bringing insects from one part of the world to another for show-and-tell?

Good thing it was dead! An alternate ending might have been "wind blows spider out of box; spider escapes into the grassy field next door. 20 years later, the town is innudated with large, pink spiders! #-o

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Traveler's holidays end with scorpion bite at airport