Keep your spiders and banana skins

[Birdie Wife]

Another useless fact about spiders - this is WHY they can only run for up to 13 seconds:

As we all know, a spider body is compartmentalised into the head, thorax and abdomen. The spider's heart is in the abdomen, and the legs join the body at the the thorax. The legs work on hydrostatic pressure, but the internal pressure created when the spider is running around would result in the heart exploding so to stop this happening, the spider 'locks off' the abdomen. This also has the effect that the legs can only work for a certain time before getting tired, because the heart is locked out and can't oxygenate them.

Why can I remember things like that, but I can't remember to pick up an extra pint of milk at the supermarket? Now there's something that needs more research...

[Sunbeam]

blimey BW! that's impressive -how was this research ever carried out? Did someone make one run for 20 +secs to see what happened?!

[JennieAtkinson]

Trouble is - you never get asked such a question in the family game of Trivial Pursuit at Christmas! I'll just have to try and drop it into the conversation somehow.

[Does the Cooking]

When I lived in Sydney the sound of my daughter screaming made me run to her. On the wall was the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. At her inistence I sprayed it with insect killer for what seemed minutes. It took nearly a full can before it showed any reaction and fell off the wall. Apparently the larger the spider there the safer, whilst the smaller the more dangerous.

[Shortie]

Try telling that to my husband!

[SueA]

My half-sister lives in Australia & used to tell me how they were afraid to go to the loo because of trap-door spiders hiding in the 'dunny'. Now that I wouldn't like!

[nick the grief]

I once went to a small island between Sweden & Finland & the toilet was a shed outside, there was a spider in there & it was absolutley huge !! If it ever bit you on the bum you'd have been paralized, so I decided to shift it by peeing on it but I couldn't shift the blessed thing

[Shortie]

Lovely image there Nick

[Alice]

Almost biblical Nick. If you can't make the water into wine then for this job you should have made the wine into water. Go for it. We know you can do it

[Slug]

I spent some time in Australia and boy do they have some BIG spiders

It was probably a Huntsman spider you saw - harmless enough to humans, but very big, scary and ugly looking. It's the little critters you've got to watch out for over there!!

I heard when a house is built in Australia, on average, every household will have at least 1 red back spider. Apparently they like nesting where there's concrete

I don't know about anybody else, but lovely weather as the Aussies may have, I love our harmless wildlife!!! OK, so a spider may be able to run for 13 seconds up your sleeve, but I'm sure glad he can't do any damage while he's there!!!

[Lesley Jay]

But they can bite!

[Shortie]

Lesley, not sure if this will put you at ease (hopefully not worse)... Did you realise the reason spiders run towards a person not away isn't becuase they want to attack or scare but becuase they are trying to hide and run for the nearest shadow, which is more often that not the nearest person

[SueA]

Everytime I walk down the garden I seem to come back with various spiders dangly off my hair & arms, the other day I had a large yellow coloured one running up my arm but managed to persuade it off onto a leaf & often wonder what's wrong with my eyes until I realise I have a money spider dangling off my fringe!

[Lesley Jay]

I often wonder what's wrong with my eyes until I realise I have a money spider dangling off my fringe!

Sue I do hope you have done the lottery this week. No wonder you are so lucky with competitions!

[SueA]

Never seems to work with money though L.J., the most I've ever won is £47 on the lottery about 4 years ago & a few tenners! O.H. says it's because I only ever win competitions where nobody else entered because they don't want the prize!