Do we really swallow 8 spiders in our sleep? Experts finally give an answer

It's an old urban legend; apparently, a human involuntarily swallows 8 spiders per year in their sleep.

True or false? According to professionals who specialise in spiders, it's highly unlikely that this legend is true. In an interview with the BBC in 2017, spider expert at the London Zoo, Dave Clarke, emphasised that “most predators don’t go after prey bigger than themselves, as they know they wouldn’t get away with it.” In other words, “it’s not the little creature that eats the big one”. So, it's extremely rare for a spider to go near your mouth.

Moreover, spiders are very sensitive to vibrations. Our breathing and snoring would quickly discourage them from coming near us. The arachnology curator for a museum in Seattle, Rod Crawford, wrote in a 2014 article that, “vibrations play an important role in the sensory world of spiders. A spider wouldn't voluntarily approach a sleeping person”.

And let’s not forget that many people don't sleep with their mouths wide open!

The origin of a false claim

According to the BBC, Lisa Holst, a Swedish columnist, is said to be the origin of this rather frightening (and disgusting) urban legend. It was in a 1993 article that she reportedly spread this “fake news,” along with other entirely fabricated anecdotes, to demonstrate just how gullible readers are and how they don’t take the time to check the facts they are told.

She wasn’t wrong.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Demotivateur - Illustration: ©Unsplash)