This is sibling love....
I am an aracnophobic, yep show me a spider and I'm outta there faster than you can say "Where'd she go" "Where'd who go?". My family knows this. They laugh at the story of how I was stuck on a toilet for 30 minutes, held hostage by a tiny black spider the size of the end of a standard pen. It wasn't big at all really, but I was still frozen unable to move or call for help. This fear has gotten better over time. I seriously thank DAoC for that. One of the tasks given sometimes is to kill these huge, ugly, hairy, spiders. Most of them are the same size as a bear if not larger. Pretty impowering to hack the beast to pieces with me sword! However the fear of these little buggers is still there. So when my sister sent out a bulletin on Myspace(tm), about spiders hiding under toilet seat lids, I was not amused. I was horrorfied, now I have to look under every seat before I sit down? Thank god for my grandmother making me fear germs and public toilets while I was small, I don't sit in public restrooms. Never the less the info is there to sit and fester in my mind, the place where I live. I have a very active imagination(big shocker I know). Over time I'm sure that this would have all gone away but no, my sister sent me this lovely e-mail this morning:
6:37 AM Subject: Fwd: spider bite>> A spider bite...please read...........
And you thought the brown recluse was bad!!! Three women in North Florida , turned up at hospitals over a 5-day period, all with the same symptoms. Fever, chills, and vomiting, followed by muscular collapse, paralysis, and finally, death.
There were no outward signs of trauma. Autopsy results showed toxicity in the blood. These women did not know each other, and seemed to have nothing in common. It was discovered, however, that they had all visited the same Restaurant within days of their deaths. The health department descended on the restaurant, shutting it down. The food, water, and air conditioning were all inspected and tested, to no avail.
The big break came when a waitress at the restaurant was rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. She told doctors that she had been on vacation, and had only went to the restaurant to pick up her check. She did not eat or drink while she was there, but had used the restroom. That is when one toxicologist, remembering an article he had read, drove out to the restaurant, went into the restroom, and lifted the toilet seat. Under the seat, out of normal view, was a small spider.
The spider was captured and brought back to the lab, where it was determined to be the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), so named because of its reddened flesh color. This spider's venom is extremely toxic, but can take several days to take effect. They live in cold, dark, damp climates, and toilet rims provide just the right atmosphere.
Several days later a lawyer from Jacksonville showed up at a hospital emergency room. Before his death, he told the doctor, that he had been away on business, had taken a flight from Indonesia , changing planes in Singapore , before returning home. He did not visit the resteraunt, while there. He did, as did all of the other victims, have what was determined to be a puncture wound, on his right buttock.
Investigators discovered that the flight he was on had originated in India The Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered an immediate inspection of the toilets of all flights from India , and discovered the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata) spider's nests on 4 different planes! It is now believed that these spiders can be anywhere in the country. So please, before you use a public toilet, lift the seat to check for spiders. It can save your life! And please pass this on to everyone you care about.
Now I understand that this is most likely another hoax, to spread fear and panic(and probably a few laughs, with toilet seats slamming down all across the country), but this is just cruel!
You don't send something like this to someone you love. Let alone TWICE in one week, that's not love...that's mean. I think she is waiting for the next time I come over to hear the sound of her toilet seat comming down so she can laugh her fool head off.
But just to be safe......
6:37 AM Subject: Fwd: spider bite>> A spider bite...please read...........
And you thought the brown recluse was bad!!! Three women in North Florida , turned up at hospitals over a 5-day period, all with the same symptoms. Fever, chills, and vomiting, followed by muscular collapse, paralysis, and finally, death.
There were no outward signs of trauma. Autopsy results showed toxicity in the blood. These women did not know each other, and seemed to have nothing in common. It was discovered, however, that they had all visited the same Restaurant within days of their deaths. The health department descended on the restaurant, shutting it down. The food, water, and air conditioning were all inspected and tested, to no avail.
The big break came when a waitress at the restaurant was rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. She told doctors that she had been on vacation, and had only went to the restaurant to pick up her check. She did not eat or drink while she was there, but had used the restroom. That is when one toxicologist, remembering an article he had read, drove out to the restaurant, went into the restroom, and lifted the toilet seat. Under the seat, out of normal view, was a small spider.
The spider was captured and brought back to the lab, where it was determined to be the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata), so named because of its reddened flesh color. This spider's venom is extremely toxic, but can take several days to take effect. They live in cold, dark, damp climates, and toilet rims provide just the right atmosphere.
Several days later a lawyer from Jacksonville showed up at a hospital emergency room. Before his death, he told the doctor, that he had been away on business, had taken a flight from Indonesia , changing planes in Singapore , before returning home. He did not visit the resteraunt, while there. He did, as did all of the other victims, have what was determined to be a puncture wound, on his right buttock.
Investigators discovered that the flight he was on had originated in India The Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered an immediate inspection of the toilets of all flights from India , and discovered the Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata) spider's nests on 4 different planes! It is now believed that these spiders can be anywhere in the country. So please, before you use a public toilet, lift the seat to check for spiders. It can save your life! And please pass this on to everyone you care about.
Now I understand that this is most likely another hoax, to spread fear and panic(and probably a few laughs, with toilet seats slamming down all across the country), but this is just cruel!
You don't send something like this to someone you love. Let alone TWICE in one week, that's not love...that's mean. I think she is waiting for the next time I come over to hear the sound of her toilet seat comming down so she can laugh her fool head off.
But just to be safe......
posted by Bk30 at 9/10/2006 01:27:00 PM
6 Comments:
Can't wait to tell the hubby!!
-devilish grinchy grin-
Okay sweety time to make you feel better. Of the top 5 website I got when I googled Two-Striped Telamonia (Telamonia dimidiata) 4 were anti hoax sites blasting this letter as a hoax. The fifth was about the real spider, which is found in india and is not considered dangerous.
As a general rule spiders greatly dislike water. They won't be in toilet seats. they'll be in the corners of the ceilings. Not many bugs to be found inside bathrooms either. Also, there are only two dangerously venoumous spiders in the states, the black widow and the brown recluse, neither of which are usually found in houses. The recluse likes woods, the widow likes dark nonpopulated places.
Having been bit by a spider last summer I can tell you one thing, you know for sure when you've been bit. I was bit on my arm and most of my upper arm on one side became red and REALLLLLLLLY itchy. I had little hives too. No way some one would get bit on the privates and not know it. No way.
So relax, feel a little better. The letter is complete bs.
Michele from AW
Just so you'll have it, this is the snopes entry on this spider hoax.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/telamonia.asp
I try to go to snopes (www.snopes.com) everytime I get an e-mail like that.
(But it was creepy all the same.)
Ewww, I hate spiders too! What a story - glad to know it's a fake!
Wanted to thank you for your comments about my book over at Bayou Bill's. He is a great writer and great friend. I really appreciated him mentioning it, and was delighted to see someone take notice!
Hope you have a wonderful day!
*snerk!*
I've found long worms in our toilet. It was burgundy in color, about six or eight inches long, and crawled around, so yeah, still living. I took pictures, of course, because I'm that weird. ;) And before I could kill it, it crawled under the rim and disappeared...
As for creatures in bathrooms... (And here's where I get really evil...) we get all kinds here. Geckos and other lizards, cockroaches crawling up through the drain pipes, mosquitoes especially if there's any standing water, other beetles and spiders and unidentified buglets... Occasionally, frogs will make their way in, but they're tiny - an inch or two long.
WHOA. No matter what, though, I cannot lift the toilet seats of restaurant facilities. Sorry!
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