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Spider Web Covers Field

Posted by michael on from the arachnophobia dept.

doconnor writes "A huge spider web covering a clover field was found by biology professor Brian Thair. It was made by millions of spiders and was thick enough to hold coins. It wasn't sticky for catching insects. It's not known why the spiders did it. CBC News has an article and an interview in RealAudio."

17 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. The spiders were probably.. by Kaeru+the+Frog · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..tired of people throwing coins at them.

  2. Just a misunderstanding by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Funny

    They heard about the World Wide Web and assumed it was their responsibility.

    bwaaaa haaa haaa

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    Best Windows Freeware
  3. What the spiders were thingking: by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. Spin big web.
    2: ??????????
    3: Big Profits!!!

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    1. Re:What the spiders were thingking: by falzer · · Score: 5, Funny

      Finally step two has been found:
      2: Get people to put coins on the web.

  4. This is by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1, Funny

    one of those stories that just screams for some witty comments. However I doubt we'll see any. The best (or worst) will probably be jerks making meta-comments try to sound clever.

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    Why not fork?
  5. Ssshhh... by jki · · Score: 5, Funny
    There were "in the order of tens of millions of spiders running frantically back and forth," but they weren't interacting with each other. Since the spiders didn't seem to care if an occasional insect stumbled into their construction, Thair doesn't think it was built for trapping purposes.

    Don't tell anyone, but I think I have found a secret way to control the spiders by using gnuplot...

  6. It's obvious why the spiders did it... by psyconaut · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...they were tired of making damn crop circles trying to get our attention!!!!

    DUH! ;-)

    -psy

  7. wow by tps12 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like a job for young Bilbo Baggins and his faithful Elven blade, Sting!

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  8. Protection... by camelrider · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...from the Leonid meteor shower, of course.

  9. Radio Telescope by heliocentric · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think they are trying to receive communications from deep space and begin their plans for place travel. This is just to compete with the humans at the Arecibo radio telescope.

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    Wheeeee
  10. Well duh... by nathanh · · Score: 5, Funny
    It was made by millions of spiders and was thick enough to hold coins. It wasn't sticky for catching insects. It's not known why the spiders did it.

    The spiders aren't trying to catch insects anymore. They're trying to catch entymologists. Far more meat on a 40 year old scientist than a 2 month old beetle.

  11. Re:Eight legged freaks? by wkitchen · · Score: 3, Funny
    A giant web that might be strong enough to catch people! That would be really scary if the story included a picture.
    I've had spiders build webs accross the frame of my front door. I can just imagine the spider thinking, "Oh man, if I can catch just one of those things, I'll never go hungry again!"
  12. Re:Check the World Record by GigsVT · · Score: 3, Funny

    discovered by Ken Thompson

    What they don't tell you is that this was the inspiration for the network centric nature of UNIX. Thompson, being a visionary, knew that there eventually would be a world wide web of UNIX systems.

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  13. They probably read slashdot... by Taper · · Score: 2, Funny

    The spiders probably saw this story and decided, heck, let's catch us a plane...

  14. Re:Check the World Record by Sprunkys · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can anyone please explain how you miss something like that growing?

    Do these spiders do this in one night, or did the caretaker (and everyone else using the playing field) suddenly realize that grass really shouldn't be white?

    --
    "We live in our minds, and existance is the attempt to bring that life into physical reality" Ayn Rand
  15. Re:Species is not yet known by shfted! · · Score: 2, Funny

    Since all the papers are lame around here (only 80,000 in the city, so they see no need for a web archive), i can't help you out.

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    He who laughs last is stuck in a time dilation bubble.
  16. Sorry, my bad by Caractacus+Potts · · Score: 2, Funny


    Sorry, those were my genetically modified spiders. No need to be alarmed, it won't happen again.