Discussion Spiders have a bad reputation among the general public (Jacobi et al., 2004; Schmitt & Müri, 2009): they are considered ugly, hairy, brown, and deadly poisonous creatures. There are tales describing how they lay eggs in human skin, frequent toilet seats in airports, and crawl into your mouth when you are sleeping. Misinformation about spiders in the popular media and on the World Wide Web is often rampant, leading to distorted perceptions and negative feelings about spiders.
