# Don't forget to wash your grapes ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661 "2015-06-04T20:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/1 "2015-06-04T20:51:16Z")
[http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/05/27/21-year-old-bitten-by-black-widow-hiding-in-her-grapes/?intcmp=ob\_article\_footer\_text&intcmp=obnetwork](http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/05/27/21-year-old-bitten-by-black-widow-hiding-in-her-grapes/?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obnetwork) > [@](#): > > A Vermont woman’s simple gesture—reaching into a bag of grapes—ended up landing her in the hospital. > That’s because a black widow spider was lurking inside the bag, per the 21-year-old’s mother; the mother > says the spider made its way up her daughter’s arm and bit her. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/2 "2015-06-04T21:01:05Z")
Oh man, I read about something similar last year and maybe even the year before! So I TOTALLY wash the heck out of my grapes every time now. Eeeeeek!! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/3 "2015-06-05T11:54:26Z")
Hope this discourages all the people who engage in supermarket pilfering. It’s because of them, not spiders, that I already thoroughly wash my grapes. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/4 "2015-06-05T11:59:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Hope this discourages all the people who engage in supermarket pilfering. It’s because of them, not spiders, that I already thoroughly wash my grapes. If you want a reason to wash grapes, work in a produce store. After spending an hour packaging them your hands smell like matches (from the sulfur). ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/5 "2015-06-05T13:01:07Z")
Oh nooooo… you have expanded my spider phobia to the produce aisle. ☹ ---
**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:** [June 5, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/6 "2015-06-05T14:03:32Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > Oh nooooo… you have expanded my spider phobia to the produce aisle. ☹ Produce store…bananas…weird tropical bugs/spiders coming out of the boxes. I haven’t seen it happen in years (maybe it has to do with them being gassed locally, dunno), but it used to be pretty common to open a box of bananas and have _something_ crawl out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/7 "2015-06-05T14:17:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Hope this discourages all the people who engage in supermarket pilfering. It’s because of them, not spiders, that I already thoroughly wash my grapes. Hey, let’s not start another [Grape War.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=720286) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/8 "2015-06-05T16:44:44Z")
I never wash my grapes. Who cares if the black widow that bites me is clean or not? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/9 "2015-06-05T16:51:07Z")
This is why I always pay up for shucked corn. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/10 "2015-06-05T16:58:19Z")
Wash? I think I will be using a flamethrower now. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-forget-to-wash-your-grapes/721661/11 "2015-06-05T17:28:44Z")
But if I wash my grapes, that’ll mess up the subtle interplay of flavors arising from the pesticides that the connoisseurs at Monsanto and/or Archer Daniels Midland spent all day slaving over a hot beaker formulating for me. Although I have gotten to the point in my life where creating my own recipes has become interesting. Maybe I should wash my grapes so I can turn right around and dunk them in my own special pesticide mix. They might not taste as good, but I’m sure I’ll improve given some time.