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"They likely traveled across the globe on shipping containers, similar to the Bubonic plague." Seems like an odd choice to compare a spider and the Bubonic pla

"They likely traveled across the globe on shipping containers, similar to the Bubonic plague." Seems like an odd choice to compare a spider and the Bubonic plague. Wouldn't any number of invasive species have been better?

smhenderson 5y ago
The whole article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, with it's references to "terrifying" even though it also says they're harmless. And the end, where he says to build a dome over GA now before it's too late, etc. I laughed out loud a little at that last bit. So I think the plague reference was meant as another way to exaggerate the severity of the situation for humorous effect. That was my take anyway.
- Johnny555 5y ago
  The whole article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, with it's references to "terrifying" even though it also says they're harmless A spider the size of the palm of your hand sounds pretty terrifying to me no matter how harmless it is, but then I really don't like spiders of any size.
  - chairmanwow1 5y ago
    I thought it said the size of a child's hand.
    - quantum_magpie 5y ago
      Having come across them in Japan many times, they can get as big as 10 cm across. Slightly less than a hand, but still extremely distressing when you run face-first into one.
      - jrumbut 5y ago
        Why do I keep reading the comments on this story? I'm booking a one way trip to the North Pole or wherever these flying spiders aren't.
        exhilaration 5y ago
        Sorry bud: Spiders make up a significant portion of the animal population in the Arctic. - https://animals.mom.com/spiders-arctic-6713.html https://animals.mom.com/spiders-arctic-6713.html Looks like we're both signing up for the first one-way trip to Mars.
        jrockway 5y ago
        Some jerk is going to bring spiders and it will turn out that they're perfectly adapted to the Martian environment and it will just become the spider planet.
      - NoahKAndrews 5y ago
        Somehow I made it all the way here before processing, how huge this thing is
  - brailsafe 5y ago
    Ah, but they're just cute little things.
    - sundarurfriend 5y ago
      Hilarious that someone went to the trouble of downvoting you for this (comment is gray as I type this). Someone really doesn't like spiders.
      - sundvor 5y ago
        The Huntsman spider in Australia is similarly harmless one might believe - a useful pest controller as well. Until one crawls across the windshield of your car whilst driving. I'm glad I was the driver when it happened. I can still remember the screams of my then co-pilot, however. She definitely had arachnophobia.
      - brailsafe 5y ago
        I was shocked to come back and now find 17 points on it. Some people are absolutely petrified by spiders, and I take great joy in taking the harmless ones and letting them crawl on my hands and so on. They're a very polarizing creature
tejohnso 5y ago
They're trying to make it sound terrifying in a fun way (I think, maybe sarcastic). It's under a heading of "Other terrifying things to know about the Joro spider" along with a bunch of other facts that are not at all terrifying.
bombcar 5y ago
I'm more interested in the 14th century shipping containers.
- Wohlf 5y ago
  Differently shaped wooden crates and barrels, mostly.
- mkr-hn 5y ago
  Some attempts to explore this on the worldbuilding Stack Exchange: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/128160/what-did-shipping-storage-crates-look-like-in-the-middle-ages https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/128160/wha...
throwanem 5y ago
"Invasive" is mostly a matter of perspective. By far the most successful invasive arthropod in the Nearctic is the European honeybee, but you never really hear anyone talk about the considerable ecological harm those do, for the obvious reason that their agricultural and thus economic utility is considered far to outweigh the externalities of their cultivation.

smhenderson 5y ago

The whole article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, with it's references to "terrifying" even though it also says they're harmless. And the end, where he says to build a dome over GA now before it's too late, etc. I laughed out loud a little at that last bit. So I think the plague reference was meant as another way to exaggerate the severity of the situation for humorous effect. That was my take anyway.

Johnny555 5y ago
The whole article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, with it's references to "terrifying" even though it also says they're harmless A spider the size of the palm of your hand sounds pretty terrifying to me no matter how harmless it is, but then I really don't like spiders of any size.
- chairmanwow1 5y ago
  I thought it said the size of a child's hand.
  - quantum_magpie 5y ago
    Having come across them in Japan many times, they can get as big as 10 cm across. Slightly less than a hand, but still extremely distressing when you run face-first into one.
    - jrumbut 5y ago
      Why do I keep reading the comments on this story? I'm booking a one way trip to the North Pole or wherever these flying spiders aren't.
      - exhilaration 5y ago
        Sorry bud: Spiders make up a significant portion of the animal population in the Arctic. - https://animals.mom.com/spiders-arctic-6713.html https://animals.mom.com/spiders-arctic-6713.html Looks like we're both signing up for the first one-way trip to Mars.
        jrockway 5y ago
        Some jerk is going to bring spiders and it will turn out that they're perfectly adapted to the Martian environment and it will just become the spider planet.
    - NoahKAndrews 5y ago
      Somehow I made it all the way here before processing, how huge this thing is
- brailsafe 5y ago
  Ah, but they're just cute little things.
  - sundarurfriend 5y ago
    Hilarious that someone went to the trouble of downvoting you for this (comment is gray as I type this). Someone really doesn't like spiders.
    - sundvor 5y ago
      The Huntsman spider in Australia is similarly harmless one might believe - a useful pest controller as well. Until one crawls across the windshield of your car whilst driving. I'm glad I was the driver when it happened. I can still remember the screams of my then co-pilot, however. She definitely had arachnophobia.
    - brailsafe 5y ago
      I was shocked to come back and now find 17 points on it. Some people are absolutely petrified by spiders, and I take great joy in taking the harmless ones and letting them crawl on my hands and so on. They're a very polarizing creature

tejohnso 5y ago

They're trying to make it sound terrifying in a fun way (I think, maybe sarcastic). It's under a heading of "Other terrifying things to know about the Joro spider" along with a bunch of other facts that are not at all terrifying.

bombcar 5y ago

I'm more interested in the 14th century shipping containers.

Wohlf 5y ago
Differently shaped wooden crates and barrels, mostly.
mkr-hn 5y ago
Some attempts to explore this on the worldbuilding Stack Exchange: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/128160/what-did-shipping-storage-crates-look-like-in-the-middle-ages https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/128160/wha...

throwanem 5y ago

"Invasive" is mostly a matter of perspective. By far the most successful invasive arthropod in the Nearctic is the European honeybee, but you never really hear anyone talk about the considerable ecological harm those do, for the obvious reason that their agricultural and thus economic utility is considered far to outweigh the externalities of their cultivation.