Posted on 08/31/2010 11:16:54 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The 28 year-old suffered severe burns after attacking the arachnid with an aerosol can at his home in Clacton in Essex.
The man was summoned by his wife to deal with a spider she had seen scuttling behind the lavatory on Bank Holiday Monday. Not being able to reach it, the man decided to kill it by spraying it with the can.
However he was unable to see whether it was dead because the bulb in the bathroom light had blown. At this point he turned to a cigarette lighter to illuminate the room, but in the process ignited the gas fumes and caused an explosion.
The blast was so strong it blew the man off his feet and lifted the loft door off its hinges.
He suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso and was rushed by ambulance to hospital after dousing himself in cold water.
A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.
"He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn't appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.
"There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.
"He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm."
Firefighters administered emergency first aid at the scene while waiting for ambulance teams to arrive.
A spokesman added: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
This is why I simply run away and let them have free reign of the joint. ;)
“Blimey! Hold me Guinness and watch this!”
Clearly, as a tenet of womens liberation the spider killing duties now have to be shared. Ditto taking out the garbage. To do otherwise is to oppress women.
Perhaps the spider was a wearing a bomb vest and blew himself up to avoid capture. Now the spider has all the spideresses he wants and flowing milk and honey.
What was he spraying that caused an explosion like that?
The idiot kid from Dover, New Hampshire and this guy should bet together for a Darwin competition.
It’s been quite a day here on FR.
Almost eligible for an award nomination............
When asked to comment, noted Hollywood film star Wile E. Coyote had this to say: “Been there, done that.”
Could be anything. Aerosol sprays can be propelled by volatile hydrocarbons, among other things.
Darwin Award contestant
I did this tons of times and never had a problem; works great.
I’ve shot porcupines that way. It’s doable.
Aerosol cans’ propellants are often flammable and have warnings not to use around flames or to delberately heat up the can.
It could have been anything as tame as hairspray....
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