I heard an average person swallows 4 spiders a year that crawl in your mouth while sleeping

[rcrush]

I heard an average person swallows 4 spiders a year that crawl in your mouth while sleeping, because your mouth is so warm and moist.

Does anyone else have a problem sleeping with the mouth open? I do and it gives me bad breath and I snore. Now I have to worry about spiders in my mouth!!

[Call Me Wesley]

1. After looking at this, you will not sleep anymore ever again (Arachno warning!)

;)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,

I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
it wiggled and wriggled and giggled inside her,
she swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
perhaps she'll die.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. This is why I swallow a bird every three months.

Just don't ask why I swallow those flies.

[HopeHoops]

3. The only thing about that which bothers me is that it means the spiders die.

We have a no kill rule for spiders in our house. They eat a SHITLOAD of things you don't want in the house.

[GoCubsGo]

7. I have that same rule.

The rare black widow, however, gets sent to live outside. (Only ever had one in 9 years here.)

[Rhiannon12866]

8. I'm the same way, have been for years.

If anybody dares to object, I just point out that "spiders are your friends." ;)

I haven't, however, ever found one in my bedroom. They're usually in the corners of the bathroom, or in the hall by the door... :shrug:

[elocs]

13. Right, in the summer I will take spiders outside.

In the winter I just leave them alone because I figure that now they are eating other things I would rather not have in the house.

[soleiri]

4. I have this reoccurring nightmare

As I'm falling asleep, I see something on the ceiling, a flash, a shadow, a speck... I don't know.

Then when I sleep, I dream that I'm lying in bed just as I was before I fell asleep.
I look up and there's a small spider on the ceiling right above me.
It then drops down towards, I scream and close my eyes.
I open my eyes and there's nothing there, so I fall back asleep.
I reopen my eyes and there's a gigantic 2 ft. spider dropping towards me from the ceiling.
I wake up for real.

So, thank you for adding to my nightmares. It needed an added dietary element.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I woke up when one got in there. I had another one run across my neck, and I

am betting that he was headed for my mouth. *shuddering*

[undeterred]

6. If they want to come in and floss without waking me up

I'm ok with it.

[WT Fuheck]

9. remember that half of all people are ABOVE average.

[NJmaverick]

10. Once my brothers and I visited my father and one of my brothers had to sleep in the basement

That's when I mentioned this cool fact to him:evilgrin:

[Thirtieschild]

11. I didn't need to know this.

Have always been terrified of spiders, a real arachnaphobe, 11 years ago was bitten - twice - by a brown recluce while I slept.

[Sebastian Doyle]

12. Considering how many of the little bastards are crawling around my house

It's a wonder I don't wake up with a web spun across my mouth every morning.

[applegrove]

14. I think someone is pulling your leg.

[noamnety]

15. simple solution

[Xipe Totec]

16. I didn't realize how many people had access to my mouth while I sleep n/t

[pokerfan]

17. The Straight Dope takes this one on

Dear Straight Dope:

I have heard from numerous sources (many of them seemingly credible) that the average human consumes an average of four spiders per year in his or her sleep. Is there any truth to this fact? And if so, why would the spiders go in our mouths?

— Michael O'Shea

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1828/does-the-average-person-consume-four-spiders-per-year-in-his-sleep

[Amerigo Vespucci]

18. "...because your mouth is so warm and moist..." STEP AWAY from the "Deliverance" DVD, just STEP AWAY

:rofl:

:toast:

[iris27]

20. Snopes has it debunked, too.

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp

Besides, I usually sleep with a pillow under my chin - for any spider to get into my mouth, they'd have to go in through my nose and navigate my sinuses first!

[donheld]

21. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly

I don't know why she swallowed a fly, I guess she'll die...

[MiddleFingerMom]

22. Don't be such a pussy!!

[old mark]

23. Use duct tape. Actually, I'd be more concerned about those little bugs

that crawl into your ear canals and lay eggs, but that's just me.


mark

[Heidi]

24. Even creepier: Tarantula shoots sharp hairs into owner’s eye (MSNBC)

Doctors now advise wearing eye protection when handling pet spiders
A creepy case of a man who got tarantula hairs stuck in his eye has doctors advising people to wear eye protection when handling the eight-legged pets.

In February 2009, a 29-year-old man visited the St. James's University Hospital in Leeds, England, after enduring three weeks of a red, watery and light-sensitive eye. A dose of antibiotics for what was presumed to be conjunctivitis didn't clear the symptoms.

Doctors at the hospital examined the eye under high-magnification lenses and spotted hair-like projections sticking into the cornea of the right eye.

<snip>

The doctors let the patient know of the hairy findings.

Ah-ha — the patient immediately recalled an incident right before he started having eye troubles in which he was cleaning the glass tank of his pet, a Chilean Rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea). While focused on cleaning a stubborn stain, he sensed movement in the terrarium and so turned his head. That's when the tarantula flicked a "mist of hairs" that hit him in the eyes and face.

Read more and see a photo of the culpable tarantula

[mike_c]

25. VERY doubtful....

[Tuvok Obama]

26. Snopes...

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp

EDIT:
oops, iris27 already posted this link