Spider Under Florida Toilet Seat Hoax
Summary:Email claims that people have died after being bitten by a spider hiding under a restaurant toilet seat in Florida (
Full commentary below).
Status:False
Example:(Submitted via email, 2004)
An article by Dr. Beverly Clark, in the Journal of the United Medical Association (JUMA), the mystery behind a recent spate of deaths has been solved. If you haven't already heard about it in the news, here is what happened.
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 i nto 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.
Inves tigators 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.
Commentary:
As any horror writer knows, venomous spiders are a pretty reliable method of raising the fear and revulsion factor in your average reader. So it's not surprising that spiders make a successful theme for hoax emails as well. In 2004, the
Camel Spiders in Iraq Hoax Email inundated inboxes worldwide. As well, another old spider hoax seems to be currently enjoying a come back. This hoax claims three women in Florida have died after being bitten by a venomous spider that was hiding under a restaurant toilet seat. According to the email, the spiders were found in the toilets of several aircraft originating out of India and could be now "anywhere in the country".
The email makes for a classic and juicy tale and one that just begs to be forwarded. But of course, it is a total fabrication. There have been no reports of deaths from foreign spider bites in Florida, nor have poisonous spiders been found in the rest rooms on international flights. The
Two-Striped Telamonia is a real spider that lives in Singapore, but it is not venomous.
Versions of the hoax have been circulating since 1999. The details vary, including the name and origin of the spider, the name of the restaurant and the names of scientists and organizations supposedly involved. All versions are equally untrue.
Some versions arrive in HTML format and include the following photograph:
The same photograph appears on various spider related websites, including,
A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders, which identifies it as a female Two-Striped Telamonia.
Here in Australia, venomous
Red-Backed spiders have been know
to haunt outside bush toilets and, indeed, some poor individuals
have been bitten in rather inappropriate areas of their anatomy.
There is even a funny song about this called, "The Red-back on
the Toilet Seat", which goes in part:
There was a Red-Back on the Toilet seat
When I was there last night
I didn't see it in the dark
But, boy, I felt it's bite
So, if you happen to be taking a holiday in rural Australia, and
the only facilities at your vacation residence are old style bush
"dunnies", then it might be worthwhile to take the advise in the
hoax email and "lift the seat to check for spiders" (grin).
The University of California's, Department of Entomology website has
an article with more information about these spider hoaxes.
Another version:
Please pass this on to everyone on your email list:
According to an article by Dr. Beverly Clark, in the Journal of the United Medical Association (JUMA), the mystery behind a recent spate of deaths has been solved. If you haven't already heard about it in the news, here is what happened.
3 women in Chicago, 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 (Big Chappies, at Blare Airport), 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 small spider. The spider was captured and brought back to the lab, where it was determined to be the South American Blush Spider (arachnius gluteus), 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 Los Angeles 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 New York, changing planes in Chicago, before returning home. He did not visit Big Chappies 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 South America. The Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered an immediate inspection of the toilets of all flights from South America, and discovered the Blush 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.
Write-up by Brett M. Christensen
