To admire this woman's sang-froid? *(Warning: spider alert)

[TheAnswerIsDontThinkAboutIt]

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-australia-59693271 You'd have heard me from space if that was me]]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-australia-59693271

Ugh link didn't work!

I'd have made an embarrassment of myself on national TV, that's for sure. 😳

and this is why I could never live in Australia

She did very well!

Are they deadly?

I think I'd have just passed out, in all honesty!

Snakes and crocodiles and all the other stuff in Australia is fine by me, but spiders can fuck right off.

The sign language interpreter at 00:25

NZ had an earthquake recently when Ardern was giving a press conference1

@CovidCorvid

Are they deadly?

No they are completely harmless to humans. But they can run quite fast and can be very big so they can definitely give you the creeps!

This lady handled that amazingly well.
When I was a teenager one crawled up my arm from the mail I had just taken from our mailbox. It was a really bright day and I couldn’t see at first and felt something tickling my arm, did not expect a great big spider on my arm! I stopped getting in the mail for a good while after that, but it did teach me a good life lesson for living in Australia - always, always look in the mailbox before putting your hand in!!

@CovidCorvid

Are they deadly?

Don't do a Google image search folks, if you don't like spiders (well obviously...)

They aren't deadly bit apparently they're nasty, grumpy and huge:

"On average, a huntsman spider's leg-span can reach up to 15cm, while their bodies measure about 1.8cm long... They have been known to inflict serious defensive bites on humans... The effects vary, including local swelling and pain, nausea, headache, vomiting, irregular pulse rate, and heart palpitations, indicating some systemic neurological toxin effects, especially when the bites were severe or repeated...It is not always clear what provokes Sparassidae to attack and bite humans and animals..." (Wiki)

I’d definitely have peed my pants!

@Lockheart

The sign language interpreter at 00:25

Yeah, he was great, looked like he was loving it

There are hundreds of different species so I guess some are dangerous and some not, picking up on JustJoinedRightNow's post.

Apparently some of them can do cartwheels and handsprings

Arrggghhhh I was warned not to Google it. Wow hats off to that woman, I'd have been running around screaming.

I'm not an arachnophobe, but I can't see myself living in a country where you basically all have to be spider experts. The fact that they all instantly knew it was a huntsman not just 'You've got a massive fuck-off spider on you'.

@CovidCorvid

Are they deadly?

Technically no, but I'd have a bloody heart attack if one touched me!

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

I'm not an arachnophobe, but I can't see myself living in a country where you basically all have to be spider experts. The fact that they all instantly knew it was a huntsman not just 'You've got a massive fuck-off spider on you'.

Yeah, this!

All children in Australia get taught about spiders at school - how to recognise them, which are venomous, etc. Last time I was there I went to an amazing exhibition at the museum about spiders (which included some displays of live ones ), and the amazing statistic was about how many people that year, or in the last few years (can't remember how many years) had died from spider bites.

Answer?

None.

@CovidCorvid

Are they deadly?

They're not poisonous to humans, but the sight of them can give you a heart attack.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

I'm not an arachnophobe, but I can't see myself living in a country where you basically all have to be spider experts. The fact that they all instantly knew it was a huntsman not just 'You've got a massive fuck-off spider on you'.

Haha this exactly

No idea if this is true but I saw a meme saying that in Australia an episode of Peppa Pig was taken off air because in it Peppa is scared of a spider and is taught that it's perfectly harmless and she shouldn't be scared.

Whereas in Australia spiders are very much not harmless

Also there's a horrifying pic of Chris Hemsworth posing with a giant spider in his home (probably a huntsman?) i won't post it but if you Google it comes up.

It's fucking huge.

Holy FUUUCCCKKK 😑

I'm horribly arachnophobic and daren't watch that clip, but I am curious! (and also super glad not to live in Australia)

She was very calm. Well done. Most Australians aren’t bothered by huntsmen as they know they are harmless. It’s the small spiders that are dangerous. Still wouldn’t be nice to have a massive spider crawling on you