or do the tops of tomatoes LOOK EXACTLY LIKE SPIDERS?

[PoemGirl]

DH left a huge tomato top on the counter after cooking the other night. It was crouching between cups like a massive great spider. I screamed

Then, a few minutes later I moved one of the cups and it wriggled. I'd forgotten about it so I screamed again

But they do, don't they?

Yes

Yes. I'm terrified of spiders.

Clumps of dark cat fur look like cockroaches in dim light, in my house anyway.

Glad you agree!

Some primitive part of my brain is terrified of them and things that look like them. But once I've seen one (that isn't a tomato) and calmed down I can happily catch it in a cup. It's weird.

Yep, they do, I may have been known to scream at the exact same thing, on occasion!

haha, good Donna, I am not alone :)

I once saw a spider in the sink, then thought "Oh no, it is a tomato stalk". Whereupon it ran up my outreaching hand.

that's terrible Humphrey.

YADDDNBU!!!

I have been known to have mini heart attacks at the sight of tomato stalks in the bottom of the salad drawer in the fridge, and on the kitchen worktops.

I used to work in a very old building with a stone flagged cellar, and nearly had a coronary when what i thought was a leaf, jumped about two foot along the ground. It was a frog. I'm not frog-phobic, but still.... Nervous disposition? Me? Nah.

Humphrey if that had happened to me, I would have needed hospitalisation. You poor poor thing I don't care how long ago it was, here, have and

Completely. They even talked about this on the Friendly Spider Programme as some people who are scared of spiders don't eat tomatoes as a result.

Going to supply this link again. It transformed my life so I am positively evangelical about the wonder of the course and link to it whenever I can! (There are no pictures of spiders on that link. They know their target audience!

www.zsl.org/experiences/friendly-spider-programme

This happened to me just today, my heart jumped, then settled, then goodness it was a tomato top!

Help!! Humphrey I'd need a doctor for shock if that was me, I have a very irrational fear of them.

Ooh interesting link Dino, thank you! I once tried to cure myself of my wasp fear using CBT from a book - it helped a bit. Would love to not be scared of insects, they're harmless and lovely really.

I have a bottle of wasp spray and they clearly don't know their audience because there's a huge picture of a wasp on the front that makes me shudder to pick it up

Yes they do, I throw them at my DH whilst screaming to make him jump.

Another thing that looks like something else ... duck's beaks look like dogs.

They bloody do, I hate tomatoes too, evil little eight legged freaks.

dinosnores- The course you linked looks amazing. I can't believe I could really be brave enough to catch a spider after only one afternoon. I feel a bit ill thinking about it. Interesting though...

My brother used to hate getting out of the bath when he was small, id say 5-6 yo, so my mam used to throw tops of tomatoes in the bath to make him get out

Chances are thats where his arachnophobia stems from.

Oh man your mother is evil SillyTilly

You are not wrong.
I have jumped many times at a lurking tomato stalk. I always throw them straight in the bin when I'm cooking with tomatoes to avoid the spider confusion.

Hemlocki think that will have to be our new house policy!

Yes they do!! And even though I refuse to be scared by spiders.... My DM is a real aracnophobe and it has blighted her life. She even turned down an all expenses paid trip to Oz because she knew there would be spiders. She isn't just scared...I remember her having silent hysteria once. Any way I tell myself all the 'they're more scared than you' and the 'they wont hurt you' but tomato stalks make me jump!!

sorry, hope that wasn't too traumatising for you all!

dh casually leaned over and removed a spider from my shoulder yesterday. he said it was medium sized so obviously massive

I have all the luck

Yes they do look a bit like spiders :) Spiders are wonderful creatures. Without them we would be over-run with all sorts of pests.

OMG yes! glad i'm not the only one who leaps back at the sight of a tomato stalk

An old friend of mine, when she was young, was helping her mum bake, reached to the back of the work top for a stray current and popped it into her mouth. Then, yes, you guessed it readers, she felt the 'current' opened its 8 legs across her tongue ......

aaaaarrrrgggghhhh

Yep, I went to pick up a 'tomato stalk' from the larder floor when I was a kid - it was the fastest moving stalk I've ever seen!

Jesus fluffyraggies that might be the worst thing I've ever read.