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.

[Eagle Eye]

Staying put for now at least for a few months. Got some stuff to finalize before I try to go back and earn money again.

New Years would be a good cut off time.

Get some of that 21k gold before you leave for good!

[AZamericonnie]

Parts of the country I've never seen!:)

Leave it to you to drive instead of fly. I think you've got some gypsy in your blood.

Is VA your final destination? Gonna get to see anyone?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Goose bumps here......how did you get it out? The very thought of smooshing one is VERY unappealing!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, Eagle Eye, and thanks for your service to our country.

[Allegra]

They do have long legs Allegra.Your right.

Yes, it's said that they're harmless, but they're so....creepy looking.

A couple of the guys I worked with at Taji in '04 used to love to catch those things or scorpions and put them in peanut cans and show them to us just to watch us freak. I didn't let them down. LOL

[fatima]

Hi WestVirginiaRebel(((Hugs)))What a beer story.

[AZamericonnie]

I'm sorry VanShuyten....I forgot to say welcome to the Canteen! Thanks for your post & the link!

[Allegra]

Oh, I've got some of the gold. ;-)

You've got a hankering to go back, don't you? It happens to all of us.

See you in Tehran in a year or two? LOL

[laurenmarlowe]

Need to find grits in the morning, LOL! MUST have cheese and jalapenos in them!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Truth IS stranger than fiction at times. Thanks, Rebel, for the story.

[BIGLOOK]

That was a Cane spider,very similar to the Wolf spider. Not as big as the Camel spider....only about 3 inches.

Don't know why but they feel at home beneath the bed. If they find you while you're sleeping, they'll start feeding on you. They're venom is topically anesthetic so you won't wake up right away.....till they hit a nerve.

Then Battle Stations....No Quarter!

[fatima]

He he,Yuck.

[laurenmarlowe]

Thank you fatima! Nope no camel spiders!

[Allegra]

Even have a pic of me and Allegra in Kuwait!

Yep...Eagle Eye and I met up once in Baghdad and once in Kuwait.

That was back when Eagle Eye was cruising around Iraq at the drop of a hat.

And we got lost going back to Camp Victory...

[Kathy in Alaska]

I'm not dining with you!! LOL!! Green things!!

[Lady Jag]

That is a grand reason! Will you eat now?

[Allegra]

how did you get it out?

Chemical warfare. LOL

I had to spray all around my room because he had skittered under my bed and I couldn't find him.

I found his lifeless body in my shower a few hours after spraying down the room. I gave him the proper flush burial.

[Lady Jag]

At the rate I'm feeling AZEE, I'll be having that tomorrow.

[luvie]

Better find something to give them some flavor! LOL!

Have a safe rest-of-the-trip, too!

[laurenmarlowe]

Gypsy for sure, LOL! We should get back here, it's beautiful!

Auto is packed to the roof with stuff I am carrying to Virginny for a family member there, but you know me, must hit the road!

Am hoping for some visits there, will keep you posted!

*HUGS*