Agreed, for these things look horrific and evil and I want to be nowhere near them.
Ubiquitous wrote:...well it's settled. I never really had any desire to go to Australia, but now I will actively ensure that I never go within 1000 miles of that godforsaken carnival of nefarious critters.
Pfft, I haven't come across any huntsmen, redbacks or anything dangerous for months. Australia is basically harmless in the built-up areas. There's nasty stuff out there, but if you lived here you'd hardly notice.
In fact, moving to Australia is a great idea. Our ties to Asia should help insulate us from an American economic slump. We've also got a quarter of the world's uranium, even though we sell it all and have only one reactor (which doesn't produce power). Join me in my dream of a robo-nuclear utopia!
The Yosemite Bear wrote:Should we notify samuel l jackson?
he could do a sequel to snakes.
"Get these MOTHERFUCKING SPIDERS of my MOTH--- AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!. IT'S ON MY MOTHERFUCKING FACE!!!! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!!!!"
Fan fact?: I heard somewhere that in your life time, you will ingest 12 spiders while you sleep.
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses.
Hit it. Blank Yellow (NSFW)
hey, speaking of \austrialia, I have been kicking around an online marketing scheme while my computer was down.
asking donations to send the PETA Executive board to Austrialia, swim with the sharks, camp out with the dingos, say hi to the snakes, salties, and giant spiders, and see how far ethics gets you.
note other non profit supplies would include cadavars to make the snorkling portion of the trip more interesting....
The scariest folk song lyrics are "My Boy Grew up to be just like me" from cats in the cradle by Harry Chapin
The suburban areas of Australia are relatively safe. In fact, they're not that different from your average American home. That said, my house is smack bang in the middle of suburban Sydney and we still enough redbacks and blue-tongued lizards to make one's day plenty enjoyable.
Irukandji syndrome is a condition induced by envenomization through the sting of Carukia barnesi, the Irukandji jellyfish, and other cubozoans.[1] It is seldom fatal, but is nevertheless one of the most painful experiences a human can endure.
The severity of the pain from an Irukandji jellyfish sting is apparent in the 2005 Discovery Channel documentary Killer Jellyfish on Carukia barnesi, when two Australian researchers (Jamie Seymour and Teresa Carrette) are stung. Even under the "maximum dose of morphine" Teresa remarked that she "wished she could rip her skin off", and is later seen writhing uncontrollably from the pain while lying on her hospital bed. In one scene, Teresa's feet are shown contorting and digging into the bed - when the camera moves back, we see Teresa rubbing her face, her body is contorting in agony, and her legs are rapidly sliding and kicking around on the bed. Jamie, at his worst, is also seen writhing in pain, curled up in a ball and barely able to speak. Jamie said he wished that he was stung by Chironex fleckeri instead since "the pain goes away in 20 minutes or you die".
Another recent program that aired on the Discovery Channel entitled Stings, Fangs and Spines featured a 20 minute spot on Irukandji Syndrome. In the segment, a young Australian woman was stung and developed a severe case of Irukandji syndrome. In a testament to the severity of pain involved, a re-enactment (featuring the actual victim portraying herself) shows her screaming and violently thrashing around on the hospital bed in an almost convulsive state, for the bulk of the segment. She later commented that this unbearable pain lasted for hours, and added that "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to endure that level of pain without turning into a vegetable".
In reality, that's not quite true. Only 9 of the top 10 most venomous snakes in the world live in Australia.
Of course, 9 of the top 9 most venomous snakes in the world live in Australia.
Being an Australian, one reaction I often get from non-Australians is amazement that anyone can live in a country so full of deadly wildlife. But really, as long as you knock your shoes out every morning, and don't go poking in holes in the ground, and wear long pants with thick socks and heavy boots, and don't swim north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the wet season, and don't swim at all in the Northern Territory, and keep a forked stick handy, and an antivenine kit, and stay within a 10 minute helicopter flight of a hospital, you're perfectly safe. Most of the time.
Speaking as one who appreciates the creepy-crawlies of the world, I have no intention of ever going to Australia without a massive bug-squasher and bug spray. That many spiders scares the hell out of me.
This message approved by the sages Anon and Ibid.
Any views expressed herein are my own unless otherwise noted, and very likely wrong.
I shave with Occam's Razor.
Yeah, I grew up in a regional part of Australia and I can't say it was particularly dangerous. I mean, if you live in some remote part of Northern Queensland then yes, you are in considerably more danger from just about everything. But in the south-east? Ok, plenty of snakes, the odd spider and the occassional Great White, but apart from that? Tickety-boo.
I love the smell of September in the morning. Once we got off at Richmond, walked up to the 'G, and there was no game on. Not one footballer in sight. But that cut grass smell, spring rain...it smelt like victory.
Dynamic. When [Kuznetsov] decided he was going to make a difference, he did it...Like Ovechkin...then you find out - he's with Washington too? You're kidding. - Ron Wilson
[quote="Stark"]Funnel webs don't go very fast, but unlike most spiders will actually attack you: they don't bite once and run away, they'll bite as much as they can - I dimly recall some guy getting bitten hundreds of times by a bunch of funnel webs hiding in his pool filter. It's not a reflex: they want to kill you./quote]
I like it how they can survive for a week underwater. IIRC they use the hairs on their legs to collect oxygen from the water and then consume the oxygen bubbles, and because they are arboreal they often walk straight into backyard pools. People scoop them out of their pools thinking that they are dead, only for the funnel webs to come back to life and start attacking.
"I'd love to take part in a political debate with Americans where anybody who tries to bring up the Founding Fathers gets an electric shock to the nuts." - Darth Wong.
"If you are looking in the bible for a guide to living a compassionate and wise and humane life, well then frankly you've got more chance of finding a lap-dancing club in Mecca, or a virgin in a catholic orphanage" - Pat Condell
I can't believe noone posted Clockspider yet.
Jesus, that thing gives me nightmares.
Saying smaller engines are better is like saying you don't want huge muscles because you wouldn't fit through the door. So what? You can bench 500. Fuck doors. - MadCat360
Spiders have too many legs, move surprisingly quickly for their size, and have no discernable heads. It's understandable, although I think they're great.
Fragment of the Lord of Nightmares, release thy heavenly retribution. Blade of cold, black nothingness: become my power, become my body. Together, let us walk the path of destruction and smash even the souls of the Gods! RAGNA BLADE!
Lore Monkey | the Pichu-master™
Secularism—since AD 80
Av: Elika; Prince of Persia
Zablorg wrote:I am not understanding this fear of spiders.
o noez it has legs and hair run away!
That's why phobia is defined as an irrational fear, genius.
Honestly, do you think arachniphobes sit there pondering, weighing in on the physical ramifications of contact with a spider before deciding on whether or not to be afraid?
Star shape + eight legs = fear, that's all there is to it.
Arachniphobia.
...
There's several types of large, hairy hunting spiders in Ohio, besides Wolf Spiders, and one of these non-wolf types actually attempted to assault me a couple summers ago; when I saw the shambling horror inches away from my hand, I jumped to my feet and the bastard jumped off the top of my desk at me!
It would take billions of tons of VX gas to make Australia even remotely fit for human habitaion. As things are now it is one huge biohazard!
I thought Roman candles meant they were imported. - Kelly Bundy
12 yards long, two lanes wide it's 65 tons of American pride, Canyonero! - Simpsons
Support the KKK environmental program - keep the Arctic white!
You know the base of a can of coke? Their bodies can get up to about that size. And then they have legs.
"I would say that the above post is off-topic, except that I'm not sure what the topic of this thread is, and I don't think anybody else is sure either."
- Darth Wong Free Durian - Last updated 27 Dec
"Why does it look like you are in China or something?" - havokeff
Ants very fun creatures. Like the Bulldog ant native to australia. Then we have this nice Fire ant infestation going on here in the southern US.
Brotherhood of the Bear Monkey Clonemaster , Anti Care Bears League,
Bureaucrat and BOFH of the HAB,
Skunk Works director of the Mecha Maniacs,
Black Mage,
CJvR wrote:It would take billions of tons of VX gas to make Australia even remotely fit for human habitaion. As things are now it is one huge biohazard!
Or you could just grow a dick and be less of a pussy. I guess that's the harder option, though.
Typhonis, we've got some fire ant badness going on too. Handling soil etc is quite regulated now: they're trying to limit the spread and control the population, but I'm not sure how effective it is.
havokeff wrote:Fan fact?: I heard somewhere that in your life time, you will ingest 12 spiders while you sleep.
pretty sure that's an urban legend but have fun reveling in the notion of venomous arachnids crawling around inside your mouth while you sleep
"There is no "taboo" on using nuclear weapons." -Julhelm
What is Project Zohar? "On a serious note (well not really) I did sometimes jump in and rate nBSG episodes a '5' before the episode even aired or I saw it."- RogueIce explaining that episode ratings on SDN tv show threads are bunk
