The Reasons I Will Never Sleep Again.

[Lisra]

The last time I saw a tiger in a zoo I was scared and awed. If there wasn't reinforced glass between us that animal could kill me in a moment. I think it's right that these responses are triggered. As there are for THESE spiders.

Smaller ones, like those we in the temperate world get, are just icky. I dislike having them in my bed, but I'm not scared.

That wolspider motherfucker though, which JUMPS at people.. I think hysterics are evolutionary justified. After all, it may be toxic.

[goat]

The last time I saw a tiger in a zoo I was scared and awed. If there wasn't reinforced glass between us that animal could kill me in a moment.

See, when I see tigers/lions/large felines, my first instinct is KITTY! I mean, I can get scared afterwards, but spiders and skittering things lack that instant of happiness before the pants-shitting starts in.

[Lisra]

I used to be like that too but now.. I dunno. Maybe it's because of my medical training and the tendency to observe muscle movements. Which are spectacular in healthy large felines.

Smaller kittens though, like the lynx, make me go awwwww too.

[Ottoman]

You've never seen a wild bear, have you?

You think "HOLY FUCK IT'S A FUCKING BEAR OH FUCK OH FUCK DON'T MAUL ME OH FUCK!"

No logical sequence.

Oh, but I have. Fairly close up, too.

Now, I was with someone else at the time, which undoubtedly helped, but it still wasn't as frightening as your encounter apparently was.

When we saw it, I stopped dead, and stayed still. No outward change. I thought, 'this is a bear; shit'. After a few seconds, I could feel the adrenaline(?) rush start. 'Okay, so, it's not making a move towards us. . . so I should just move back.' Kept it in sight, kept moving slowly and purposefully, stayed quiet, backed away until we were over the next rise, then jogged away for a bit. I was shaking a bit through the whole thing, but afterwards, I felt calm almost immediately.

One day, I was walking in my garden, and I suddenly ran into this bastard. Like, almost literally; it was a case of the web being partly in my path, with the spider suspended out in the air, and not coming into focus until I was close to it. I was able to take half a step back, but couldn't put my thoughts in order enough to move away. As soon as I could finally turn my head to look away from it, I saw another, different (yet equally terrifying) fucking arachnid freak. At that moment, with huge spiders on either side of me, I felt completely trapped, and more scared than at almost any other time I can remember (still being beaten out by 'nearly falling off of a mountain'). I couldn't move forward or backward, as that would mean passing closer to one or the other of them. I couldn't force through the foliage to either side, because at that point my paranoid fear response had hidden a giant spider behind every leaf and flower. I couldn't even sink to my knees, lest my face be brought in closer proximity to the spiders and they jump onto it. It took several minutes of thoughtless panic for me to be able to jump past the one and run all the way back to my house. . . then take off all my clothes and comb my hair to make sure there were no spiders on me. I didn't feel safe the rest of that day.

I guess it all comes down to your specific personal fears. . . and spiders are my one great weakness.

For the record, I think big cats in zoos are the most adorable fluffy little kitty-cats ever.

[Garfman]

I do have an idea what you're talking about with that. I had been conducting snake research for years. But moving brush for my parents, I caught a glimpse of a snake, jumped back, heart beating like mad. It was instinctive. It was a Garter Snake, and I'd picked up tons of them. You can't find a more harmless snake.

I also had a beetle crawl into my ear when I was sleeping, and that creeped me the fuck out.

[Ottoman]

But. . . B-But. . . snakes just want to be your friends!

[Garfman]

Oh, I know. I love snakes. It's surprise snakes (which they're particularly good at) that startle me.

[Psycat Aurora]

But. . . B-But. . . snakes just want to be your friends!

And then this happens:


But in all seriousness, I actually do like snakes. I handle them at work every day. Some are quite shy and will curl up in a little ball when you pick them up, while others are more friendly and will crawl on your hand an lick you.

[Psyclone]

And then they pee on you. Or maybe that's just the snakes that I work with.

[Garfman]

A number of different snakes vent on people. I know Water Snakes will with minimal provocation.

[Arius]

Say hello to Arthropleura! An eight and a half foot relative to the centipede.

Luckily, it's extinct now. Much like the coelacanth, the gracilidris, and the pygmy trasier.

Oh, those three animals were found to be alive within the last 20 years? Huh...

[Psyclone]

That's... actually kind of cute.

[Ottoman]

1: They can't get you if you stay on land (we hope).
2: Only dangerous in groups, assuming that it isn't, like, a metre long.
3: I want to hug that furry little bastard.

[Arius]

1: They can't get you if you stay on land (we hope).
2: Only dangerous in groups, assuming that it isn't, like, a metre long.
3: I want to hug that furry little bastard.

Those three are fine. I'd be more worried about the arthropleura being found alive.

[Garfman]

Actually, the coelacanth was rediscovered 70 years ago.

And I kinda doubt something from the Cambrian hasn't been seen yet.

[Ottoman]

I wish trilobites were still around, so I could have one as a pet. Those things were awesome.

[semysane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF7488WHcok

[Geoff_B]

three things that have made me a bit wary of going to sleep recently:

puzzle agent
puzzle agent 2
this

*shudder*

[theshortone42]

I've actually had to suck it up and get over my fear of creepy crawlies because Deadpool is the biggest freakin puss in the world when it comes to bugs.

Also, Arius is now my favorite source of nightmare fodder XD

[Arius]

Meet Barry. He's a four foot long sea worm capable of biting through metal. He is also covered with tiny spines that can cause permanent numbness when they come in contact with your skin.

[Elomin Sha]

Sushi anyone?

[goat]

Hi Barry!

[War Monkey782]

FUCK, WHY DID I CLICK THIS THREAD!?

*nightmares forever*

[gcninja]

found one of these in the dishroom sink while I was working. apparently he fell from the vent (we have a lot of these around and you can hear them all night with their chirps)
He was just swimming around trying to stay afloat so I scooped him with a ladle and tossed him in a pan then took him out side and let him go. Surprisingly enough he followed me back into the darkness of the dock and dried off then disappeared somewhere (it was like 1 when it happened, he disappeared about 3)
well he looked more like this while swimming because his wings were wet

[TheRocket]

That belongs in the cutness thread, GC!