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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 03/24/2009 : 17:02:16
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Variations of the headline, "Miracle Spider Bite Cures Paralysis" have recently made the rounds of the horrible drivel that for lack of a substitute we call "news" in the USA. CNN had this video, "... an inspiration story no-one's going to soon forget."
The story goes that a Brown Recluse spider bit a wheelchair-bound man in California, curing him.
LiveSciene's Christopher Wanjek has some choice comments on this "miracle" story, and the terrible journalism that spread it. For starters, California has no Brown Recluse spiders, a simple fact that these journalists either didn't think to check out, or ignored for the sake of the story.
In fact, there is very little in the story that hold up to even casual critical examination. You have to wonder how many people might have swallowed the tale whole, and are now thinking of putting Brown Recluses on their handicapped loved ones.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 03/24/2009 18:22:01
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 03/24/2009 : 19:23:25 [Permalink]
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Read about that the other day -- I keep track of such things. I am highly skeptical that there any spider involved at all, and certainly not a fiddleback. Here's what a bite from one of those li'l darlin's looks like about a week after the event:
Their venom rapidly destroys tissue. They are the only US spider that I won't simply pick up and take the bits, if one is forthcoming.
On another note, their venom has been under study for a long time.
This one was so obvious that my bullshit detector didn't bother with it.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2009 : 21:21:03 [Permalink]
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Reminds me of Bee Venom Therapy.
21 years ago (or so), my buddies and I walked into our local bar only to find that it had been turned into an MS fundraiser for the night. The woman running it swore to me that she wouldn't (couldn't!) have been there if her husband hadn't stung her with a dozen bees earlier that day, ameliorating her MS symptoms. Even though I was pretty heavy into the woo back then, something about it didn't sit right with me. But, since she said they were fundraising for general MS research, and not bees specifically, I tossed 'em a bunch of cash.
Hey, that was also my first encounter with the colored ribbons thing. The person I gave my donation to handed me a red ribbon with a safety pin. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it until he told me to pin it on my shirt, like he had one. "Oh, okay." I wore it around the bar the rest of the night, like most other people, and then tossed it in the trash when I got home. Started seeing other colored ribbons several months later, and a chart explaining which ribbon color equated to which cause, and then it hit me, "oh, that's what that was all about!" Figured I should have kept wearing it for a few days, to "spread awareness." 'Cause everyone in the bar that night was definitely aware. They had run of the bar's PA system, after all. My wearing the ribbon in the bar that night did nothing for the cause. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 02:34:53 [Permalink]
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| I've seen a few of those ribbons at work. Even multi-coloured ones, like pink/light blue, whatever that means. I haven't bothered to check it out. Maybe pink is breast cancer? I lost a very dear coworker to brest cancer that came back after 5 years and decided to go for the spine and brain instead. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 03:11:00 [Permalink]
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There has never been a verifiable death due to a Fiddleback bite. Lots of stories though, most as laughable as this one. Here is a fairly typical Black Widow bite after a few days:
I've had four of these and they are quite painful, enough so that you'd think I'd have learned something after the first one. 
But I didn't learn squat and still pick them up today. As long as you don't rough them up, they just try to scamper away.
Anyone who does not love spiders, scorps and rattlesnakes has no soul!
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 06:04:37 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by filthy
Anyone who does not love spiders, scorps and rattlesnakes has no soul!
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And neither do those as loves them buggers.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2009 : 22:07:30 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
I've seen a few of those ribbons at work. Even multi-coloured ones, like pink/light blue, whatever that means. I haven't bothered to check it out. |
Here is a monster list. It does not include, however, the black ribbon with the blue outline for showing support for lap dancers. Go figure.| Maybe pink is breast cancer? |
Yup. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Spider bite cures paralyzed man?
