# Australian floods bring a sci-fi landscape of spiderwebs.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307 "2012-03-09T18:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/1 "2012-03-09T18:55:59Z")
For all those who need one more reason to associate Australia with all things creepy, i thought you might like these stories about how wolf spiders and other ground-dwelling arachnids are fleeing the floodwaters in the Australian state of New South Wales. [Spiders conquer Australia’s flooded land](http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/08/spiders-conquer-australias-flooded-lands/) [Spiders spin webs across Eastern Australia to escape flood waters](http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/310511/20120307/spiders-spin-webs-eastern-australia-escape-flood.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/2 "2012-03-09T19:04:14Z")
And now **mhendo** , where do I send my bill for the Ambien prescription I’m going to need to have filled? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/3 "2012-03-09T19:07:21Z")
willnotclickwillnotclickwillnotclick Spiderwebs are THE irrational phobia I have. Not spiders, no, I can handle spiders themselves, but the webs send me weeping into a corner. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/4 "2012-03-09T19:07:38Z")
I can’t stand pictures of spiders, I really don’t know what possessed me to click on either of those links. (But I don’t mind seeing them IRL and the pictures are still pretty neat looking.) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/5 "2012-03-09T21:12:30Z")
Can someone remind me again why we allow Australia to exist? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/6 "2012-03-09T21:19:06Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Can someone remind me again why we allow Australia to exist? You’ve just seen pictures of what happens when _part_ of Australia disappears beneath the waves. Do you want their critters to carpet the rest of the planet? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/7 "2012-03-09T21:20:44Z")
I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just a picture of a snowy field. Oh wait, that isn’t snow, is it? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/8 "2012-03-09T21:37:22Z")
I’d be freaked out if I had to walk through those, but I have a more pressing question: there’s really a place in Australia called Wagga Wagga? Come on now. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/9 "2012-03-09T21:43:21Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > You’ve just seen pictures of what happens when _part_ of Australia disappears beneath the waves. Do you want their critters to carpet the rest of the planet? Indeed. It seems Mom Nature used it as a prison colony too. “Send the baddest of the bad to that little continent.” (Present company accepted, all our doper friends in Australia) ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/10 "2012-03-09T21:45:47Z")
I would look at the links if I knew it was _only_ pictures of _webs_, and not closeups of spiders. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/11 "2012-03-09T21:54:16Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I would look at the links if I knew it was _only_ pictures of _webs_, and not closeups of spiders. There are spiders, lots and lots of spiders. DON"T CLICK! ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/12 "2012-03-09T21:56:59Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > There are spiders, lots and lots of spiders. DON"T CLICK! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/13 "2012-03-09T21:59:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’d be freaked out if I had to walk through those, but I have a more pressing question: there’s really a place in Australia called Wagga Wagga? Come on now. Yes, and I’ve been there several times. There are also towns called Kurri Kurri, Tumbarumba and Woy Woy. Live with it. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/14 "2012-03-09T22:00:56Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I would look at the links if I knew it was _only_ pictures of _webs_, and not closeups of spiders. In the first link, just look at the top picture, you’ll be ok, I promise. Just don’t scroll down. It’s worth it, the picture is pretty spectacular 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/15 "2012-03-09T22:04:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’d be freaked out if I had to walk through those, but I have a more pressing question: there’s really a place in Australia called Wagga Wagga? Come on now. Much of the time, it’s referred to simply as Wagga, especially by people who live in the region. It’s one of Australia’s largest inland cities, although that’s not really saying a lot, given that the vast majority of the country’s population lives near the coast. It’s also not pronounced quite the way you would think. The first “a” in each word sounds like an “o,” making the pronunciation more like “wogga wogga.” ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/16 "2012-03-09T22:15:26Z")
Good christ. Nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/17 "2012-03-09T22:19:19Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s also not pronounced quite the way you would think. The first “a” in each word sounds like an “o,” making the pronunciation more like “wogga wogga.” That’s how I assumed it was pronounced. I don’t know if that makes it less silly. > [@Giles](#): > > Yes, and I’ve been there several times. There are also towns called Kurri Kurri, Tumbarumba and Woy Woy. Live with it. I’m living with it. I just think it sounds like something a person might make up as a parody of an Australian town. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/18 "2012-03-09T22:23:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m living with it. I just think it sounds like something a person might make up as a parody of an Australian town. A lot of the funny-sounding names derive from the various aboriginal languages. Tumbarumba, Wollongong, Parramatta, Gundagai, Brewarrina, Coonabarabran, Mullumbimby, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/19 "2012-03-09T22:25:54Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Much of the time, it’s referred to simply as Wagga, especially by people who live in the region. [But you mustn’t call Wagga Wagga Wagga.](http://www.gregchampion.com.au/lyricslibrary/DontCallWagga.html) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307/20 "2012-03-09T22:44:38Z")
Must be a tough town to be a fly in. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-floods-bring-a-sci-fi-landscape-of-spiderwebs/615307.md?page=2)