how many spiders does humans eat without knowing it?

Answer 1

No this is an urban myth. I imagine it would be hard to swallow the spider when most people sleep with their mouths closed unless they are snoring. Also, I do not think your mouth is a very inviting place for a spider to crawl. In fact I imagine the breathing would scare it off.

Anyway, MythBusters on the Discovery Channel has this to say "Despite what you may have heard, there is no evidence that spiders secretly crawl into our mouths while we are sleeping. Hard as it may be for arachnophobes to believe, most spiders are more wary of us than we are of them. Even if you were lying perfectly still, your breathing would scare it off, so a spider is unlikely to hang out around your mouth.

We hate to break this to you, but you probably unwittingly consume more spiders when you are awake — in your food. The Food and Drug Administration guidelines indicate a certain level of whole insects or parts are acceptable in some food products, such as those containing fruits or vegetables."

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/quiz/quiz.html

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

The website listed by Christina J above actually says that this is an urban legend - meaning that somebody made it up. The site says:

"The swallowing spiders story is an urban legend started in 1993 by a columnist writing for a computer magazine. She wanted to illustrate how people accepted “facts” so readily on the Internet. It seems we still are! I think the original story was that, on average, a person swallows eight spiders per year.
Now, a spider would steer clear of your mouth at night—for goodness sakes, it might be eaten! Spiders have predators and having one breathe down their “necks” would be frightening. Why would they go looking to be dinner?"

Answer 3

3 a year

Answer 4

That's right - it's a total myth. Think about it: who on earth would fund research in order to get that statistic? More importantly - how would such research be carried out? Setting up cameras beside the beds of 1000 or so people accross the world, and making charts as to how many spiders go in their mouths?

Every time you see a statistic, it pays to think about these things - "Would someone really collect this data?" and "How would this data be collected?"

Answer 5

this was on the news a few years back and it burned into my psyche so much that I couldnt sleep for a couple of months after hearing it.

7 and a half is the statistical average in a year. The average lifespan is 80 years so that's 600 spiders in a lifetime.

*shudder*

Answer 6

I don't eat any, that I know of, I hope. "If you wish to live and thrive let a spider run alive".
Which came first the spider or the fly?.

Answer 7

It is said that in a lifetime, we eat approximately 6 spiders! We don't know that we eat them!! This is mostly whilst we are sleeping.

Answer 8

Supposedly, we eat at least one spider in our lifetime(while sleeping) but some may eat more!

Answer 9

Im not sure if theres been a scientific study ( how would you start?), but on a programme called Brainiac they suggested it was approx 8 in a lifetime. They crawl in when you are asleep!

Answer 10

Well i make a delicious spider curry,so i eat more than most---but i know about it so that doesnt count