FReeper Canteen~ Camel Spiders Found in Iraq , Urban Legends and Folklore ~Sept.21,2006

[fatima]

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Camel Spiders Found in Iraq , Urban Legends and Folklore Urban Legends:Subject: FW: Camel Spider found in Iraq--This is a huge spider!!!! Yuck. I sure am glad we don't have these here. Although we probably will after this war..... This picture is a perfect example of why you don't want to go to the desert. These are 2 of the biggest I've ever seen. With a vertical leap that would make a pro basketball player weep with envy (they have to be able to jump up on to a camels stomach after all), these spiders latch on and inject you with a local anesthesia so you can't feel it feeding on you. They eat flesh, not just suck out your juices like a normal spider. Comments: The photo appears to be authentic. Fortunately for all of us — especially the guys in the picture — the same cannot be said of the accompanying text, which merely repeats false rumors circulating since the start of the Iraq war. This scary-looking creature (actually, it's a pair of scary-looking creatures dangling end-to-end) is indeed commonly called a camel spider, but it is found in arid locales all over the world — including the southwestern United States — not just in the Gulf region. A typical specimen can grow to about the size of a child's hand, but, though they are known for being vicious predators, camel spiders are neither venomous nor a threat to human beings. They don't eat camels, either.

World's Tallest Woman Netlore Archive: Emailed photos purport to show the tallest woman in the world Description: Emailed photos Circulating since: 2002 Status: False

The Giant Grizzly Bear Not quite a world record In real life, the big grizzly in the first two photographs measured 10' 6" from nose to tail and weighed an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 pounds — unusually large for the vicinity in which it was found, says the USDA Forest Service, but not quite a world record, nor even a record for Alaska. It was killed on October 14, 2001 by U.S. Air Force Airman Theodore Winnen on Hinchinbrook Island, Prince William Sound. The photos were taken by his hunting partner, Staff Sgt. James Urban. Both were stationed at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks at the time. Though the bear was within 10 yards of the hunters' position and moving towards them when he fired the first shot, Winnen says, it did not charge them, contrary to what the email claims. "I don't know if the wind was in our favor or what," he told the Anchorage Daily News. "We were dressed in camouflage. He might not have seen us." Winnen's weapon was a 338-caliber Winchester Magnum, not a 7mm semi-automatic as alleged. The first bullet pierced the bear's brain but left it standing; five more in the chest brought it down.

[TASMANIANRED]

Need a Louisville slugger.

[AZamericonnie]

Or a shovel!:) Evening Tas! Hope your having a good shift. *hugs*

[luvie]

NO!!!!!! I don't want to imagine it! LOL!

[AZamericonnie]

Ewwwwwwww! LOL Evenging Lady. Hope your feeling a bit better! *Hugs*

[fatima]

He he:)
Sept 27, 2005
Wow! Thank you so much for this website! I have told my camel spider stories to many disbelieving people over the years, and now I am vindicated! Back in 1996 I was a still in the US Air Force working as an explosive detector dog handler (K9). Just after the Khobar Tower bombing in Daharan, I got sent to the newly reopened Prince Sultan Air Base which was in the middle of nowhere as I could figure it. My job was to use my dog and search incoming trucks onto the base for explosives which put me on one of the entry control points to the base. These entry points were about the most isolated parts of the base, at the end of a long dirt road through the desert (don’t ask) at the edge of a never-ending fence line (I guess incase we found what we were looking for). There were no structures out there, just a few of us Security Police, some cots, camo netting, and a light-all unit. I worked the night shift, and the trucks stopped appearing after midnight, so there was lots of down time for us to worry about things that go bump in the night.
Not long after I arrived, I was working at one of these points when I first saw one of the most horrifying creatures I've ever seen. Like from a bad monster movie, a camel spider came creeping out of the darkness. One of the guys who first noticed it let out a yell like we were under attack. Though not as big as the ones in the "famous Iraq" picture, this thing was monstrous to a New Jerseyain such as me. It just sat there at the edge of the light cast by the light-all unit, and I swear it was sizing us up. None of us had ever seen, or heard of a camel spider, so we did what came natural, we threw rocks at it. This definitely did not have the expected or desired result. Instead of running off, it was clearly agitated by the rocks impacting nearby. The closest guy was at least 15 feet away, but this mutant seemed to be searching for the source of the rocks, rotating left and right, scanning its horizon, seeking a target.
When a rock finally found its mark and beaned it in the head (head, or whatever), this thing freaked out and blasted off towards the nearest guy at an unbelievable speed. At this point all bravado was lost, and the command post across the desert must have thought a group of Girl Scouts were being attacked as everyone ran in different directions screaming hysterically knocking over cots, tent poles, etc. The monster attacked the guy it was after (long since forgot his name, but not his face that night) by somehow attaching itself to his leg. A bloodcurdling scream pierced the night air “AAAAAAAAAHHH GETITOFFMEEE!!!!!!” In the mayhem and thrashing about, the spider hit the dirt, only to get up and regroup. Another guy ran over and ambushed it, and stomped it into the ground. There was a second of relief until he picked up his foot. The spider had sank into the soft sand relatively unharmed, and emerged from its grave exceptionally pissed and went after its new enemy number one. After some more chaos, screaming, and foot stomping (sort of a crazy-looking frenzied line dance) this armor-plated arachnid finally succumbed to the US issued desert boots. Not to sound too gruesome, but any avid monster movie watcher knows never to leave the dead monster intact, because it will come back to life and get you, so using an e-tool (folding shovel) the spider was chopped up and its parts spread out into the desert where hopefully they wouldn’t find each other and regenerate.
After that night no one cared about insurgents or terrorists, but rather all were on extra vigilance for more of these abominations, and we all prayed it didn’t have a bigger brother. I just wish I had a camera, because those that haven’t been there have no idea.
Sorry for my long-winded story, but to all those who didn’t believe me…HA!
And to take a line from one of my favorite movies that applies directly to Camel Spiders:
“My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are, aren't there?
Why do they tell little kids that? “
“We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly. “
AJ fron NJ

[fatima]

It's a joke Spanaway Lori:)

[AZamericonnie]

My first line of defense is anything aerosol! Ha!

That must have been some way wicked stuff!

[Just Lori]

Figures.

[AZamericonnie]

Feeling itchy yet.

I just hope I can sleep tonight!:)

[TASMANIANRED]

Totally unusual today.

[BIGLOOK]

Spiders are soft and squishy no matter the size (except one I know of).

You all should invest in a good pair of Rubbah Slippahs!

[Randy Larsen]

I HATE FRIKIN" SPIDERS!

Are you nuts?

I'm gonna have nightmares tonight!

[fatima]

You really think that will kill them-HA:)

[Allegra]

Need a Louisville slugger.

They move too fast for that. I was going to squash it with my shoe, but it scurried UNDER MY BED real quick.

I couldn't find it then, (yes, I looked), so I went the chemical warfare route. I would not have slept that night knowing that that thing was lurking in my room somewhere. LOL

[fatima]

He he-I got video-better run now.

[luvie]

EEUUWWW!!!!

I can't stand the sound of them muushing.

I spray them with Raid!

[Allegra]

When a rock finally found its mark and beaned it in the head (head, or whatever), this thing freaked out and blasted off towards the nearest guy at an unbelievable speed. At this point all bravado was lost, and the command post across the desert must have thought a group of Girl Scouts were being attacked as everyone ran in different directions screaming hysterically knocking over cots, tent poles, etc. The monster attacked the guy it was after (long since forgot his name, but not his face that night) by somehow attaching itself to his leg. A bloodcurdling scream pierced the night air “AAAAAAAAAHHH GETITOFFMEEE!!!!!!”

LOLOLOL!!

[Eagle Eye]

Camel spiders are no Urban Legend although the ones in the pic are not as large as they appear due to good use of perspective. However all the stuff about them being aggressive and flesh sucking predators is just legend. The ones I saw were about a hand size. Big, but not fearsome.

The picture of the sand storm is real. That is part of the expat camp at Al Asad air base in Iraq. I have several other shots from diferent angles and can even show you my hooch in some of them. Definately NOT an urban legend.

[Randy Larsen]

GD You!

[Allegra]

You're preaching to the choir on both counts, E.E.

How are ya? I'm HOME right now. :-)