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.

[AndrewC]

Eeeeewwwww!! He ATE a camel spider?

Yes, after all, he was a camel spider. (he also ate lizards)

[luvie]

Oh, you are the one who has done all the hard work. I am just enjoying it...well, most of it anyhow.

We used to get sandstorms like that when I lived in Lubbock. Nasty things.

[fatima]

http://www.ecologicproductions.com/ref_movies/tsck_Spider.mov

[Allegra]

Does that mean pulling out the hairspray??? LOL

Hey, it's worked on palmetto bugs in the past who were stupid enough to come into my home. LOL

Actually, I ran to our camp's Vector Control Manager's office and gibbered something about a camel spider being in my room and he gave me a can of lethal stuff (probably illegal in the U.S.) and gave me all these dire warnings such as once I had sprayed it not to go into my room for about three hours, don't let it touch my skin, don't breathe it, etc., etc., etc.

It got the spider, though. :-)

[Jhensy]

Go to YouTube and type in "camel spider". Lots of crazy footage from our boys, including one eating a lizard.

No FR thread like this is complete without the good ol' Clock Spider, from Australia.

[fatima]

Yuck.

[shezza]

Hi, Connie, and thanks.

I lived in Australia for a couple of years and had an encounter with an evil funnel-web spider making its way into my flat. I had just gotten out of the shower and he was perched on the bathroom door.

Although I screamed like a banshee, nobody came to my rescue. So after screwing my courage to the sticking point, I doused the critter with hairspray (this was the 80s - big hair was in, so I had plenty of the stuff). He got too gooed to move and I was able to slowly inch my way in for the kill. Oh, man, I have goosebumps just thinking about it.

(I hate spiders...I really do....)

[fatima]

Do you beleive this one:)
Username: Stan W.

I am having trouble getting this information out to our reservists and military men now stationed in Iraq and I thought that a site like yours just may do the trick. Although it is quite lucrative and becoming more popular, it can be a very dangerous proposition to involve oneself in the smuggling of camel spider eggs. If you are at the departing airport, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, accept money for swallowing a balloon of camel spider eggs. Many times these eggs are on their way to hatching. A camel spider's egg-tooth will rip through the balloon like it was tissue paper and once alive inside your stomach or digestive track, there is little hope for survival! Do not let what happened to my brother's fiancée's brother's friend happen to you! Be alert!

[VanShuyten]

This article says "If one is found in the house, it can be brushed into a dustpan or other container and returned to the outdoors."

http://ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/scorpions/solpugids.html

That's the Urban Integrated Pest Management site for solpugids - the general name for those camel spiders.

[Allegra]

I hope you haven't brought one home as a pet and intend to have "show and tell" on Saturday! LOL!

No worries...I have deal with camel spiders and scorpions. I'll stay away from them if they'll stay away from me. LOL

Can't wait to see you, either!! {{{hug}}}

[Allegra]

EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!! LOL

[fatima]

That's so funny:)

[Allegra]

camel spider's egg-tooth will rip through the balloon like it was tissue paper and once alive inside your stomach or digestive track, there is little hope for survival! Do not let what happened to my brother's fiancée's brother's friend happen to you! Be alert!

LOL - No, I DON'T believe that one. I don't believe anybody has ever tried to smuggle out camel spider eggs, either...ROFL!

[fatima]

Wow,Imagine seeing one come in.

[Just Lori]

I dunno. Anything in your stomach will soon turn to mush from the acid and digestive stuff your body produces. Why would anyone swallow a balloon full of spider eggs, anyway?

[AZamericonnie]

Evenin' Luv! Always good to see you too! We had a rather big lunch & hubby still isn't hungry! I'm making some spanish rice just cuz I'm craving some.:)

I sure hope the Troops know that we all.......

[fatima]

Big Yuck.Thanks Jhensy:)

[Just Lori]

I can be such a sucker... fish hook and all!

[tomkow6]

mine

[tomkow6]

mine