The Museum of Hoaxes
indonesian deadly spider, hoax or real?
Posted By:

Jun 21, 2004
 here's the e-mail i received. It's kinda hard to believe....so can you find out for me? Thanks..I don't forward e-mail...especially kinds like this.


Subject: Spider bite
>
> 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 gone
> 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 buttock.
>
> Investigators discovered that the flight he was on had originated
> in India. The Civilian Aeronautics Board 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.
>

Category: ; Replies: 19

Comments
David
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 | 01:17 AM
It's a joke, made to make gullible people explore their toilets. Wouldn't the spider be flushed down the toilet?
Angela
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 | 11:15 PM
you got a point, but what if it's on the rim?
Martin Morganlander
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 | 08:42 PM
Was this super news scoop ever picked up and reported by CNN, FOX or any other reliable news agency. No? Wonder why? Hmmm. Maybe they are hiding this from us. To avoid a panick. Hmmm. Think there is some hidden political agenda here? Call the Republicans, no wait the Democrats. better still Nader, yeah Nader, that's it Nader he'll know.
Angela
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 | 09:36 PM
ROFLMAO!!! yup....Call the National Gaurd...you got a point...this is a stupid thing to even ask about. LOL
tadchem
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 | 04:12 PM
http://www.truthminers.com/truth/spiders.htm
Andrew
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 | 06:11 AM
It's definitely a hoax guys! just type telamonia dimidiata on the search engine and you'll find several sites on this topic. Heck, the spiders of that name isn't even poisonous.

The article of the so-called spider outbreak was probably written by someone who just has nothing better to do than to get people to check theit toilet seats for fun.
Herb
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 | 04:17 PM
Obviously, an al-qaeda plot .... yee haaa
Helen
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 | 12:50 AM
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blspider-2002.htm
Are you people kidding me or what? Truly gullible people don't belong on the net.
vwillow
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 | 07:29 PM
So you are saying that I should not go to the doctor to get the bump on my butt checked out ?
Smerk
in to mischief
 Member
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 | 07:39 PM
Tee hee. Reminds me of a song we did in primary school - There's redbacks in my dunny, and it ain't funny! :lol:
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
 Member
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 | 09:52 PM
Wow, I think this is the first thread I ever posted in (as David), come back to haunt me. Or something.
Boo
in The Land of the Haggii...
 Member
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 02:53 AM
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/buttspdr.htm

snopealicious.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
 Member
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 05:35 AM
...Plus restaurant's toilets get cleaned at least once a day. Spidey would have been flushed away. Why do people believe stupid crap without even thinking about it for a split second??
andychrist
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 07:48 AM
Actually there is a problem with Tarantulas often lurking around toilets in the Southwest. I've heard of people there installing black lights in their bathrooms to detect the spiders, which glow orange under ultraviolet.

On an even more cheerful note, a friend of mine was bitten by some kind of wood spider and had to rush to a hospital-- his lower legs ballooned to about three times their normal diameter.

But bites from even the most venomous of spiders or scorpions are rarely if ever fatal.
Winona
in USA
 Member
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 09:19 AM
A friend of mine was going on a 2 week hike in the SW with his boy scouts, so I warned him to take a stick and run it around the edge of the loo. He laughed it off and wouldn't believe me (knowing my propensity to joke), till at the first base they warned all the boys to watch their testes.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
 Member
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 09:47 AM
Boyscouts, please testes the water before you get in!
Winona
in USA
 Member
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 10:02 AM
Meag: I was thinking along those lines too, after I read what I typed. lol
Silent Fish
in an endless forest of wooden chairs
 Member
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 02:50 PM
what kind of spider likes to eat butts? what a fabulous headline

NUMEROUS PEOPLE GETTING KILLED BY BUTTMUNCHER!
Brand
Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 | 03:10 PM
Unless we're importing lettuce from Indonesia, how in the heck did they(Telamonia Dimidiata) make it to Olive Garden!? None the less...the rest room toilets. Telamonia Dimidiata sounds like something one would do on a toilet anyway.

Note: This thread is located in the Old Forum of the Museum of Hoaxes.