Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Cobwebs
Cobwebs make excellent scary Halloween decorations, but less excellent everyday house décor. They are great equalizers, found everywhere from abandoned shacks to Buckingham Palace. “Cob” is from the old English word coppe, for spider. Picturesque cobwebs are dusty abandoned spiderwebs, although scientists technically differentiate between cobwebs and a spiderwebs because they are produced by two different species of spiders. Spiderwebs are produced by the family of spiders that construct elegant, sophisticated, symmetrical structures called sheet webs, while the spider family that produces cobwebs use a different silk and tend toward three-dimensional, irregular tangled creativity. Leonardo Da Vinci vs Jackson Pollack.
Spiders are not insects, they are arachnids, a family which includes scorpions. Spiders have eight legs but no antenna, while insects have six legs and antennae. There are about 40,000 different species of spiders, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica. Spider blood is blue and spider silk is liquid that hardens upon contact with air. Research suggests that no matter where you are, you are never more than 10 feet from a spider. If you think it kind to catch a house spider in a cup and release it outside, it may have unintended consequences. Scientists estimate that only about 5 percent of indoor spiders have ever set foot (feet?) outside and would probably die if released outdoors. No worries. Spiders tend to hide in crevices and mind their own business. Most are harmless, have no reason to bite you, and provide beneficial home pest control by eating most of the insects in your house. Next time you are brushing away cobwebs, appreciate the artistry and science behind these small engineering marvels. Appreciate the fact that they are small. Spider experts estimate that human-sized spiderwebs would be tough enough to snag a jetliner.
