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"Virus Hoax:
Urband Legend Example"
Virus Hoax Warnings: Page 27
of 57
Spider in the Toilet Hoax
September 1999
The following message is totally false. According to the Entomology
department at the University of California, Riverside, there is no such
animal as a South American Blush Spider. There is also no Journal of the
United Medical Association (JUMA), no Big Chappies restaurant at Blare
Airport, no fact there is no Blare airport, and no Civilian Aeronautics
Board (the Civil Aeronautics Board was disbanded in 1984). Beverly Clark
is a line of wedding apparel and a Blush Spider is a cosmetological term
referring to patches of tiny varicose veins on the surface of the skin.
As mentioned at Urban Legends.com, "If you're attacked by one of these,
I'd recommend calling a plastic surgeon rather than the exterminator..."
************************************************************* WARNING:
From Texas A&M International University
*************************************************************
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 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 a 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
Officer Sylvia Steele Texas A&M International University 5201 University
Blvd. Laredo, Tx 78041-1999 956-326-2100
Copyright 2004 by Jay Jennings
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