The Town Hall Archives

AIO PSYCHE

All I will say, is that I do in fact know if this......thing is real or not, and that this picture was taken in Iraq.

Any guesses as to what this thing, if it's real, could be?

Melka · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:53 am Post subject:

aaaaah it is real and It is a spider and It is freaky.AAAAAH get it away!!!

Simbelmyne34 · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:35 am Post subject:

It's a spider. *chills go up back*

A guy I know way in the Army or something like that, and at dinner one time he told us about really big spiders he saw!

Jared · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:46 am Post subject:

It's a real photograph, but its trick photography. This photograph is often accompanied by a number of tales about the spider's many abilities. In fact, I sent out a rebuttal email to this not long ago. Quoting myself:

For those of you who aren’t in on the camel spider joke, it is just that. It started in the first Gulf War and continues in the current Iraq War and has circulated in enough emails of late that many coming back from Iraq tell of them – partly to see who falls for it. So, if any of you thought that the image was real, well…

It was. That particular image wasn’t photoshopped; it’s just a lens trick. The “camel spiders” – while arachnids, they aren’t actually spiders – are being held up very close to the camera, and a beveled lens is likely being used, creating the illusion of being particularly large. Actually, camel spiders are about five inches long, their bite isn’t venomous and does not anesthetize victims. Furthermore, they don’t have any remarkable leaping ability, are not particularly aggressive (although in seeking shade, they often do follow the troops, which initially led to that impression in Kuwait in ’91) and, in case you have seen this particular bit of information in any circulating email, they do not eat the stomachs of live (at least to start with, I suppose) camels.

Oh, and one more thing: camel spiders are native to the western United States as well.