# get the spiders off me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2001, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091 "2001-08-20T03:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jonfromdenver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@jonfromdenver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonfromdenver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/1 "2001-08-20T03:37:48Z")
i just had a strange, yet interesting question that i cannot answer for myself. when spiders are walking on the ceiling, do they know they are upside down? i thought that maybe they are too small to really perceive their orientation. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/2 "2001-08-20T03:42:00Z")
This reminds me of the long running argument on the Howard Stern Show: Does a racehorse know when he wins the race? Seems like a pretty pointless point to ponder (:D) if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/3 "2001-08-20T03:43:34Z")
I thought this was about the DT’s. Spiders don’t ‘know’ much of anything about spacial orientation would be my guess. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/4 "2001-08-20T03:47:06Z")
Most spiders (not sure that it’s true of wolf spiders) pay out an anchor thread as they move along walls or ceilings. If they are dislodged, the thread acts as a safety harness to keep them from falling too far or falling into water, etc. I do not recall seeing a spider on the ground paying out anchor thread. If spiders on the ground do pay out anchor thread, nothing is proved; if (as I suspect) they only anchor themselves on walls and ceilings, it would be a strong argument that they know up from down. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/5 "2001-08-20T04:46:17Z")
I’m pretty sure they can tell up from down. All they have to do is feel which way gravity is pulling them. Apart from this, there are all kinds of indicators of direction… where the sun is coming from, things around them moving, or just simply looking at the world. Since spiders hunt, it would be benficial for them to be able to tell whether they will fall “up” or “down” when they leap onto an insect, and when not to let go of their footholds. They must have some sense of direction to build webs oriented a certain way (usually roughly perpendicular to the ground so things wont fall through it and break it), and if a housefly can tell up from down, so can a spider. As for being that small and so high up, you could compare it to going up in a plane. Even at 30,000 feet, you can tell up from down. I think you have to be significantly smaller than a spider and/or living in an aquatic environment before you can no longer perceive your orientation (on the kind of scale you’re talking about of course). ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/6 "2001-08-20T05:04:02Z")
I’ll bet spiders do know they’re upside down. Understanding Newtons three laws of motions is one thing, but realizing that one direction seems to be tugging at you harder than another is…well, another. Besides, spiders normally don’t get hurt when they fall great distances. It’s not comparable to say “well, the spider is one inch tall and fell five feet and was ok. I’m six feet tall and if I fell 360 feet I guess I’d be ok too.” Spiders don’t build up enough speed in 5 feet to do any damage. That, and their size, shape, and weight, make it so they don’t fall that fast. So while I’m sure they realize which way down is, why bother worrying about it if it doesn’t concern them? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/7 "2001-08-20T20:46:20Z")
Astronauts must have taken spiders up into microgravity by now, if only to see how they spin webs. What’s the verdict? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/8 "2001-08-20T20:53:29Z")
Hmm. Not 'til October, per this site: [http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/3877/](http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/3877/) ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/9 "2001-08-20T20:54:20Z")
Ah, Google- [Searches the _web_ quite well](http://www.seds.org/~spider/animals/sp_space.html) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-spiders-off-me/77091/10 "2001-08-20T21:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*Hmm. Not 'til October, per this site: > > [http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/3877/](http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/3877/) \*\* If you ever refer me to a webpage that loads a midi tune again, I’ll… Well, I’ll scream in shock and horror again. See if I don’t. Argh.