On 19 Aug 2003 00:29:33 -0700, (lumberjack)
wrote:

Thought the following news item might be of interest ...


Spider cleared of causing flesh-eating ulcer

The white-tail spider, whose bite has been blamed for cases of
flesh-eating ulcers for decades, has been declared innocent following
methodical Australian research.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s926733.htm

When I was in California last month I was warned to beware of the
brown recluse spiders that were apparently quite common in the area.

One of the people I was with was already deeply arachnaphobic and
totally spun out when, while we were dining outside at the hotel,
several spiders slowly descended on threads of silk and one landed on
his head.

It was so funny -- boy could that guy dance!

Turns out they were just a harmless spider that inhabits the trees and
hangs down on a thread trying to catch moths at night.

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