Weird Spider Facts

Certain female species of spiders such as the Australian crab spider, sacrifice their bodies as a food source for their offspring.

Some male spiders pluck their cobwebs like a guitar, to attract female spiders.

Fried spiders taste like nuts.

The largest spider ever was the Megarachne which had a diameter of 50 cm. The fossil was found in Argentina.

The bite from a black widow spider is not automatically fatal. In fact, less than 1% of all people bitten by this spider run the risk of dying, and most of them are saved with the use of antivenin.

The skeleton of a spider is located on the outside of the body.

Spiders usually have eight eyes, but still they cannot see that well.

There are about 34,000 species of spiders.

Spiders have claws at the ends of their legs.

Only the female black widow spider has a poisonous bite. The male spider's venom is not poisonous and it does not attack its prey.

Of the 35,000 species of spiders, only 27 species are known to have caused human fatalities.

Weird Presidential Pardon

In 1829, George Wilson and an accomplice received death sentences for murder and robbing mail trains. His accomplice quickly took a trip to the gallows, but Wilson had influential friends in Washington. These friends beseeched Andrew Jackson for leniency on behalf of their friend, and Old Hickory relented. In 1830, he pardoned Wilson for his capital crimes; the mail robber would only have to serve a twenty-year term for his other misdeeds.

It sounds like great news for Wilson, but when authorities presented him with the pardon, Wilson perplexingly refused to accept it.

After much legal back-and-forth, Wilson’s case came before the Supreme Court, which ruled that since the pardon was a bit of property, there was no legal way to force Wilson to accept it. Like his accomplice, Wilson was hanged. I guess a twenty year prison term is no walk in the park but it sure beats dying?

NYC fashion boutique: free soup, designer pants

That is some weird marketing!

NEW YORK – You know the economy is ailing when a Manhattan fashion boutique starts offering free soup.

The temporary fashion boutique calling itself The 1929 is selling chic clothes and giving away soup and coffee. The store is located in one of the trendiest shopping districts in the city.

Manager and co-owner Aaron Genuth says the store in SoHo was inspired by the Great Depression. His partner Levi Okunov says they want people to go to the store, have a bowl of soup and try on some clothing.

The store sells the work of independent designers on its ground floor. The basement is an art and performance space where the free nourishment is doled out.

The store is expected to remain open through next month.

Information from: Daily News