10 Creepy, Spider Facts

10 Creepy, Spider Facts

Let’s be serious, it’s hard to get excited about spiders when you see them crawling on your ceiling. Your first instinct is usually to swat them down, not wonder about the strength of their web or how much they can eat.

Although spiders are unwelcome in your home, there are a lot of pretty cool spider facts you may not know.

1. Trace Their Name to Ancient Greece

Another name for these arthropods is arachnids. In Greek mythology, there is a legend explaining how arachnids got their name. The story claims their was a girl in Ancient Greece named Arachne who was famous for her weaving skills. But the goddess Athena became jealous of Arachne. So out of spite, she turned Arachne into a spider. Thus, the name arachnid was born.

2. Webs Can Stop a Plane

Spiders’ silk webs are known for their strength as well as elasticity. But just how strong are they? The silk is so strong, that it could stop a Boeing 747 dead in the air. Pilots are lucky spiders don’t eat airplanes.

3. Transport Themselves by Ballooning

To start a web between two far apart objects, spiders need to be crafty. Some spider facts use the term “flying,” but that’s not actually how it’s done. Spiders use “ballooning,” to jump between areas. The spider raises its abdomen to release a long thread to catch a breeze, lifting the spider into the air.

4. Baby Spiders Have Invisibility Powers

Because they are so small, spiderlings could be easy prey for other insects. Luckily, spiders are born with almost no color, making them nearly invisible in the air.

5. Spider Silk Was Used for Socks in the 1700s

And gloves, too. A Frenchman, Bon De Saint-Hilaire, showed it was possible to make fabric from spider silk. He would collect spider cocoons then boil, wash, dry and comb them to collect the thread. Today, this method would never be profitable. 1.3 million spider cocoons would yield only about 2 pounds of silk.

6. Spider Bites are Often Not a Threat

Sorry all you aspiring Spidermans, spider facts don’t cover radioactivity. Spiders rarely bite people (unless provoked), so you should not fear daily encounters with deadly spiders.

7. Biggest Webs are 2X the Size of Shaq

The biggest known spider web is so large even Shaq could not escape it. Orb weaver spiders in the tropics are know to spin webs larger than 18 feet across.

8. They Don’t Need Webs to Catch Prey

Although many spiders use webs to snare insects, not all do. Jumping spiders hunt in the day using two large, forward facing eyes. These give them excellent vision for hunting. They stalk their prey and then use strong hind legs to leap and catch their food.

9. Threads Were Used in WWII

During WWII, the threads from certain spiders were used as resources by soldiers. Some used threads of orb weavers in their measuring equipment. The American soldiers used threads from the black widow spider for their telescopic gun sights.


Even if you’re never at war in the African jungles, these are pretty cool spider facts.

10. Spiders Love to Recycle

Spinning such large, intricate webs can take a lot out of a small insect. Many orb weaving spiders recycle their webs to save their time and strength. They do this by eating the silk, which is full of protein. They only leave the main thread to start a new web the next day.


See, who said facts about spiders aren’t cool? Next time you’re trying to impress you friends, flex your trivia muscles with these creepy, crazy spider facts.