Playground Myth Animals Biology

You Eat Eight Spiders While Sleeping Every Year

You eat virtually no spiders; they avoid sleeping humans

Kids were told that during sleep, spiders crawl into their mouths and down their throats, consuming an average of eight per year.

There's no evidence that people regularly swallow spiders during sleep. Spiders actively avoid humans and view our mouths as dangerous traps, not attractions. A sleeping human's breath would be a deterrent. The myth likely originated as an internet hoax in the 1990s and spread through chain emails and forums. Most spiders people encounter while awake are deliberately avoided by the spiders.

Believed 1990–2015
Year Revised None
Why Changed Never True
Confidence Fully Debunked
Region Worldwide

Reception

8/10
7/10

Sources

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