Spiders in the Toilet!
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Comments: Don't panic -- it's a joke. It gives itself away in the very first sentence: "According to an article by Dr. Beverly Clark, in the Journal of the United Medical Association (JUMA)..."
There is no such journal. There is no "United Medical Association." If "Dr. Beverly Clark" has ever had an article published in any legitimate scientific publication, I was not able to find it. There have been no recent news reports of spider-caused deaths among air travelers in Chicago.
Nor is there a "Blare Airport" in Chicago (try O'Hare International Airport); nor a restaurant in Chicago or anywhere else called "Big Chappies."
Lastly, there is no real genus of spider known as Arachnius gluteus (apparently intended to mean "butt spider").
There is such a thing as a blush spider, but guess what - it's a cosmetological term referring to patches of tiny varicose veins on the surface of one's skin.
If you're attacked by one of these, I recommend calling a plastic surgeon rather than the exterminator... unless, that is, you're eager to be the butt of this Internet joke.
Update: new variant - A new variant of the hoax first sighted in 2002 alleges that an Indonesian spider migrating to the U.S. under airliner toilet seats has killed five women in North Florida: Return of the Butt Spiders.
Special note: Australian Redback Spider - I've heard from several Aussie readers keen to point out that there is a spider in Australia known as the Redback (Latrodectus hasselti), the bite of which can be toxic and which is famous in popular lore - much like its American relative, the Black Widow - for residing under outdoor toilet seats. Though "Arachnius gluteus" remains a fiction, it is admittedly not without its precedents in folklore and real life.
More information:
Internet Spider Hoax
A sober debunking by the Dept. of Entomology, University of California at Riverside
