I thought it would be fun to do a weekly
"TRUE OR FALSE"
Post.
Look at this photo... ew!
Then read the article below...
and tell me if you think it is true or false.
Simple enough.
Both the photo and the story came from FB.
OH... no fair checking on Snopes!
***
***
NEW POISONOUS SPIDER IN THE UNITED STATES
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 (Olive Garden) 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 (Olive Garden), 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.
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 (Olive Garden) 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 (Olive Garden), 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... True or False?
I'll give the answer later in the comments.
I say false. Don't know why exactly, but it sounds like a snopes story to me. Am I right?
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you after a couple more folk take a guess. Thanks for playing! I hope someone else drops by. If not, I'll tell you in the morning.
DeleteIndeed you are right!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletei say false because it's an internet story i'd like to get jesse ventura's opinion on all this.
ReplyDeleteWell Jesse certainly has strong opinions on things.
DeleteI say false because it sounds like something my sister would send me via email. Stuff such as the horrors of lint in your dryer, or the horror of your dog licking wet Swiffer residue from your kitchen floor and dying a slow, agonizing death... you get the idea. Invariably, these emails are usually fake.
ReplyDeleteAh... I understand that. MIL send me stuff like that often too.
Deletei think it's false. checking toilet seats? naw.
ReplyDeleteI am a toilet seat checker. LOL! I have been ever since my friend, Letty sat down to use an outhouse and got a rear full of quills! That was one mad hedgehog.
DeleteFor the love of fat bassets, I hope it is false. I already have enough to worry about in the bathroom as we are potty training.
ReplyDeleteI would do just about anything for the love of a fat basset.
DeleteThat's funny that you asked us not to Snopes it - this is the sort of thing on FB I go immediately to Snopes about since I am a skeptic by nature. So, without checking, I'm going to guess no - doesn't sound believable. However, it is true that most black widow bites happened in outhouses because they like dark, enclosed places where there are plenty of insects.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea for a feature :) Looks like everyone agrees it was false, which is interesting. It is most certainly false!
ReplyDeleteI have got to say "False" (I haven't read any of the other comments yet, so I don't know if you gave the answer. I'll go back now and read.)
ReplyDeleteAbout checking toilet seats... one morning years ago we heard a blood-curdling scream from the bathroom and ran to see what had happened. My youngest daughter has sat down on the toilet and a 3" frog jumped onto her butt. To this day we don't know who looked more shocked, my daughter or the frog.
ReplyDeleteAlready saw your answer, which is a bit of a relief. As other(s) have mentioned, black widows favor outhouses. Have some experience with outhouses and have actually seen a couple of the spiders too. Always worth a look, as you can guess where a sitting man is likely to be bitten (!)
ReplyDeleteOuchie, no thanks.
I'm hoping it's false, but just reading that story gave me the creeps!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by to say hi and hope all is well with you and the family. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteLong time no blog. How are you?
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you and yours.
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween!!!!!!
ReplyDelete