http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/213294/Man_Killed_by_Pet_Spider_Eaten_by_Creepy_Crawlies
For the record, I don't know if this is true or not. I certainly hope not.
Good thing the Youph isn't around to read it. We'd have to sedate her.
I'm not reading that.
From Morbid Fact du Jour:
Update Du Jour!
Well, apparently yesterday's morbid fact about Bettina, the killer black widow, is a bit less than factual.
Amos Quito writes:
"This story has reared its ugly head in the past. It's pure B.S. Sensationalistic tripe to sell copy. A moment's googling finds versions from
2004, based on a Daily Mirror story. All recent reports cite the Sun as source. (Besides, if he was a 'loner', how did they know the names of his pets? Little spider collars? And aren't termites vegetarians? Surely none of those animals would know what to do with a large mammal carcass beyond laying eggs into it.)"
And Bill adds:
"I know a Bettina from Dortmund. Uh, well, the clue is 'Culled from: The Sun': a 'news'paper owned by Rupert Murdoch (see also Fox News). This happened less than a mile from where I worked and the bare facts were: Bloke who kept loads of creepy crawlies in his house was found dead. Some of the crawlies had escaped. His death was probably from natural causes. The rest was just made up by the Sun."
I am duly shamed. Thank you for keeping me "honest"!
I don't know if it's true or not, but the guy being dead between 7 and 14 days and still recognizable is a bit of a stretch - even if spiders and such weren't feasting on him.