• grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Here’s a few rumors I heard about camel spiders while deployed to Iraq from '05 - '06:

    They can run up to 25 mph

    They can grow to the size of house cats

    They aren’t actually spiders or scorpions, they’re their own weird type of insect, which leads some people to believe they’re aliens

    When they bite you, they inject you with a poison that numbs the bitten area, so you can’t even tell you got bit

    They will climb into your bunk at night and clip your hair with their jaws to line their nests

    If you see a camel spider, don’t shoot it because you’re more likely to accidentally shoot your foot than the spider

    • poweruser@lemmy.sdf.org
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      7 months ago

      I knew a guy who knew a guy who had a friend who was in Iraq around the same time and he said his friend spotted a camel spider running toward them on its hind legs. He unloaded on it with a SAW and blew off a few limbs but it still didn’t die!

      -a totally true story, I’m sure

      • grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I believe it! :)

        I did see a guy beat what was supposedly a baby camel spider with a pushbroom, and it didn’t die, so he grabbed a foot locker and dropped it on top of it, and that definitely killed it.

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      They will climb into your bunk at night and clip your hair with their jaws to line their nests

      That’s kind of a weird rumor to start considering military men don’t have hair. I guess maybe it’s to scare the ladies?

      • grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I dunno, I’m a lady and it didn’t scare me. Most male soldiers had a high n’ tight haircut, which leaves longer hair on the top of the head, about an inch in length at most. Also, barbers weren’t exactly readily available all the time, and hair regulations kind of went out the window depending on your location in county.

    • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
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      7 months ago

      When they bite you, they inject you with a poison that numbs the bitten area, so you can’t even tell you got bit

      I mean, that sounds like a plus.