Transcript What Lurks Under the Toilet Seat…

What
Lurks
Under the
Toilet
Seat…
Fact
or
Fiction?
Story ONE
Ambushed!
COURIER MAIL - Wednesday, 11 July, 2001: An Alice Springs man who was bitten on
the bottom more than 20 times by a Red-back spider needed 16 doses of anti-venom to
survive.
Darren Meehan, 25, from Alice Springs, Australia believes he may have caught the
Red-back spider in his jeans during a visit to an outside toilet. When he went to bed that
night, it too ventured with him. While sleeping, he most likely turned over into a position
that threatened or irritated the spider causing it to bite him. He claims to be a rather heavy
sleeper and so did not feel the bite. The spider feeling threatened, kept attacking until he
eventually switched positions. Mr. Meehan said he slept through the attack and it was not
until the next morning that he found more than 20 angry red bite marks on his right
buttock. Nearly 48 hours later, he was doubled over in extreme pain and taken to the
hospital.
Mr. Meehan now holds the record for the most anti-venom ever injected into a
person in Australia. He was attacked by the Red-back spider as he lay sleeping in his bed in
Alice Springs last month, but he was still getting shots of anti-venom on Monday as he has
been unable to shake off the effects of the huge amount of poison in his system.
The head of Alice Springs Hospital's emergency department said it was the worst Redback bite ever recorded in Australia. Emergency physician, Dr. Elizabeth Mowatt said,
"This is the biggest bite I know of on record." The most serious Red-back bite previously
recorded only required eight doses of anti-venom.
After a total of 20 anti-venom doses, Mr. Meehan is now recovering from his
ordeal and the bites.
Story ONE
Ambushed!
Fact…..or …..Fiction?
Fact!
Truth!
Story One: Ambushed!

From as far as research can tell this
gentleman’s story is true.

It was not published in a scientific journal,
but was published in a local paper. The
article can be found on:
http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider2.htm
The Spiders and Toxic
Mechanism
Spider 1 (from story 1): Red-back Spider
Latrodectus hasselti
Latrodectus hasselti

They are dangerous and can inject neurotoxin into bloodstream.

~250 people/ year bitten by male Red-backs and only a few hundred by female Red-backs.
Females are slow moving and generally leave no sign of web. The most common bites emerge
when accidentally caught in clothes and then pressed against the person’s skin.

Only 1 death reported since anti-venom discovery in 1956.

This is one of the few species where the male assists the female in sexual cannibalism. During
mating the male will place its abdomen in the females mouth. The female will begin to
cannibalize before mating is over. After mating the female will usually not mate again.

They make a good pet! In September of 2004, inmates at Grafton maximum security prison in
New South Whales were found keeping Red-back spiders as pets. Supposedly they were
milking them for their venom for a high but no evidence supports this theory.

They are closely related to the black and brown widow spiders, found in North America, and
katipo spiders.

They are infamous and even have a song…
Mechanism

Similar mechanism to the Black widow neurotoxin: Latrotoxin

Targets the synaptic bulbs of the Acetyl Choline by dissolving
in the synaptic bulbs of Acetyl Choline Neurons and allows
Ca+ efflux

Ca+ ion is used by the body as a signal for a high action
potential arriving. This conveys a message to release the
neurotransmitter.

The neurotransmitter causes the synaptic gap to flood and bind
with high affinity to Acetyl Choline, thus opening the ion
channels.
Effects

It causes hyperexcitability of muscle
fibers and prolonged
muscle contraction.

It is extremely painful
and death can occur if
not given anti-venom.
(Usually spiders use
dry bite or very little
toxin).

Death:
The diaphragm and
abdominal muscles
contract and can not
relax can not
breathe comma
Death
Story TWO
The Two-Striped Telamonia
Spider
WARNING: From the University of North Florida
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 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 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 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.
Story TWO
The Two-Striped Telamonia
Spider
Fact…… or …… Fiction?
Fiction!
Hoax!
False!
This story is actually a re-produced story from a 1999
e-mail circulation, which was cleverly designed to
replicate real places and names. This story has been
replicated at least two times (once in 2002 and again
in 2003). There are slight alterations made to this
story in each tall tail:
1.) The spider used:
1999 Story- South American Ambush Spider, Arachnius
gluteus. A.K.A Blush Spider
2002 Story- Two-Striped Telamonia spider, Telamonia
dimidiata.
2003 Story- Two-Striped Telamonia spider, Telamonia
dimidiata.
2.) The location of 3 women that were hospitalized:
1999 Story- Chicago
2002 Story- Florida
2003 Story- South Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
3.) Spider’s location in the U.S.:
1999 Story- Big Chappies at Blare Airport
2002 Story- Olive Garden
2003 Story- Hart's Family Restaurant
4.) Lawyer:
1999 Story- he took a flight from NYC and changed planes in
Chicago.
2002 Story- he took a plane from Indonesia and changed planes in
Singapore.
2003 Story- he was from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and took a flight
from Clarks Sumit, changing planes in Wilkes-Barre.
5.) Flight Investigator's analysis of spider’s
originality:
1999 Story- South America
2002 Story- India
2003 Story- India
The
Culprit
Steve Heard
The Culprit
The creator of the hoax contacted The University of California Department of
Entomology. The following was taken from http://www.entomology.ucr.edu/

He wrote the hoax to show that 1) people are gullible, 2) that the internet
is a frighteningly fast way to spread misinformation, 3) that people forward
on information without checking the veracity of the information. He never
expected this to spread so quickly and so widely.

The hoax was purposely filled with incorrect information such that if the
reader checked into any bit of the information, a red flag would arise
because there would be no credibility to the citation of information (no
medical journal with that name, there is no spider named Arachnius, there
is no Blare Airport, etc.)

The account of the anatomy of the hoax is detailed in the following article:
Vetter, R. S. and P. K. Visscher. 2000. 2000. Oh, what a tangled web we
weave: the anatomy of an internet spider hoax. American Entomologist 46:
221-223.
Evidence: Hoax Claim vs. Reality
Claim
Hoax
Reality
Published Article
Journal of United Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical Association
(JUMA)
(JAMA)
Spiders under
Spiders Under Commercial Airline
Any public and or commercial restroom must
airplane toilet seats
toilet seats.
abide by code and use chemicals in their
lavatories, which are not compatible for spider
survival.
Airline Inspectors
Civilian Aeronautics Board (CAB)
Civil Aeronautics Board- abolished in 1984
Tone of article
Gossipy, casual, informal style
COME ON! When have you ever read an article
published by a journal that you didn't have to get
a dictionary to understand?
Deaths
3 female mortalities
No article in any Florida, Chicago, or Pennsylvania
paper relating to 3 consecutive spider bite deaths/ spiders
on an airplane between 1999-2007.
Table 1: Data provided by SDSTAFF Doug: Straight Dope Science Advisory Board.
<http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidertoilet.html>
The Spider and Toxic
Mechanism
Spider 2 (from story 2): South American
Ambush Spider, Arachnius gluteus. A.K.A
Blush Spider
Any similarities…
Gluteus maximus
Arachnius gluteus

This spider does not actually exist. There is no spider
named: Arachnius gluteus

The creator of the initial fabricated story in 1999 was
attempting to be witty and humorous by having a
spider that bites people on the butt have the name
Arachnius gluteus, Arachnius meaning spider, and
gluteus pertaining to the butt.

This butt spider is a fabricated spider.
The Spiders and the Toxic
Mechanisms
Spider 3 (from story 2): Two-Striped
Telamonia spider, Telamonia dimidiata.
Telamonia dimidiata

This is in fact a real spider. However, its venom is not
poisonous. (Hence there will be no mechanism).
 Family: Salticidae (Jumping Spiders)
 Habitat: Foliage in wooded areas
 Distribution: Singapore, Indonesia, and India
Male: 8-9mm
The 1st and 2nd legs are armed with thick bristles
Taken Home Message
Most toilet seats have chemicals in them
that hinder spiders from infesting them.
 If you find yourself in a rural setting, or
having to use an old Australian “dunny”
than lifting up the toilet seat might not be
such a bad idea.
 Not all the information on the internet is
fact.

THE END
This production has been brought to you
by:
Tara Kraus
References and Pictures

Doug. 2003. The Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidertoilet.html

Christensen, Brett M. Hoax-Slayers. http://www.hoax-slayer.com/toilet-spider-hoax.html

Koh, Joseph K. H. 2000. A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders. BP Guide to Nature Series.
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Telamonia_dimidiata.htm

The University of California Entomology Department Online. 2004.
http://spiders.ucr.edu/debunk.html
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SpiderzRule. http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider2.htm

Wilson, David. The University of Queensland
http://www.kingsnake.com/toxinology/old/arachnid/spiders.html
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www.klo-klobal.de/dunny4-l.jpg (dunny picture 1)
www.corporateoz.com (dunny road sign)
www.google .images (toilet pictures and butt images)