# How big would a daddy longlegs have to be to kill people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263 "2003-11-25T21:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/21 "2003-11-26T02:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*An insect scaled up to the size of a baseball would run into fundamental problems with breathing and keeping itself from collapsing in on itself (especially when molting). When you talk about volleyball size, you need some serious mutations to even envision a viable organism. And the size of a large dog? Fuhgeddaboutit. Once you’ve made that many changes, you can’t meaningfully call it an insect anymore. > \*\* IANA zoologist. But dll’s are arachnids, not insects. This means that, unlike insects, they have lungs(book lungs to be specific). While insects IIRC breathe through their exoskeleton. Since a bigger organism needs a thicker exoskeleton, and it’s more difficult to breathe through a thicker exoskeleton, insects are more limited in size. Arachnids are still limited by the other things you mentioned. **Matchka** I agree with the others. I’ve heard that seniors in the air force send the new guys on errands to retrieve a bucket of prop wash. ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/22 "2003-11-26T03:10:28Z")
We knew it was a gag, but it took our minds off the 'gators. And let’s not forget sending a private into batallion HQ to get the Prk E-9 radio. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/23 "2003-11-26T03:45:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > \*\*IANA zoologist. But dll’s are arachnids, not insects. \*\* They’re both, dude: Main Entry: in·sect Pronunciation: 'in-"sekt Function: noun Etymology: Latin insectum, from neuter of insectus, past participle of insecare to cut into, from in- + secare to cut – more at SAW Date: 1601 \*\*1 a : any of numerous small invertebrate animals (as spiders or centipedes) that are more or less obviously segmented \*\*b : any of a class (Insecta) of arthropods (as bugs or bees) with well-defined head, thorax, and abdomen, only three pairs of legs, and typically one or two pairs of wings 2 : a trivial or contemptible person I know what you meant, and while I would refer to (true) insects and arachnids both as “bugs,” I wouldn’t refer to an arachnid as an “insect,” the older definition–which is still listed first–includes them. Similar confusion occurs with the term “carnivore” which can mean “meat eater” or “member of the order Carnivora.” Not all meat eaters are members of that order, and not all members of that order are meat eaters. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/24 "2003-11-26T05:55:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bob Scene \* > \*\*My grandmother told me that when she was a little girl growing up in Texas (she was born in 1909), the story going around among the kids was that a bite on the genitals from a daddy long legs would turn a boy into a girl and vice versa. I’m not sure what was supposed to happen if you got bit twice. \*\* [geek humor] Wow, an XOR operation on the gender flag. That could come in handy with some folks I know… [/geek humor] ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/25 "2003-11-26T08:26:52Z")
Now if you gather up a bunch of DLL and squish them into a pot and add the eye of newt and a bat heart and boil for a while, with your blowgun darts ready to be dipped when the mixture turns green… ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/26 "2003-11-26T09:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*And if a DLLS did get that big, how big a flyswatter would we need to squash it? \*\* I’m not sure how relevent this is, and, I’m not an expert, but I think the biggest problem you’re likely to run into with very large DLLs is running out of memory. But nowadays, you’d probably need the mother of all DLLs for this to happen. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/27 "2003-11-26T11:43:20Z")
**How big would a daddy longlegs have to be to kill people?** A small one would kill anybody if you threw it hard enough. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/28 "2003-11-26T19:53:09Z")
> [@](#): > > I know what you meant, and while I would refer to (true) insects and arachnids both as “bugs,” And, of course, if you _really_ wanted to be nitpicky, you could point out that “bug” properly refers only to a particular order of insects, with beetle-like hard forwings, but which don’t meet in a smooth line on the back like beetles. But of course, nobody on the SDMB would _ever_ be that nitpicky. If you want a good general term for insects, spiders, worms and the like, I suggest “creepy-crawlies”, a technical term which traces its lineage back to the Bible itself. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/29 "2003-11-26T20:41:52Z")
**DocCathode** and **Earl** , I didn’t know that DLLs had book lungs. (Thinking back on it, I should have: Arachnids have book lungs, insects have spiracles. I _knew_ that, just not at the moment. ;)) **Lucretia** : Interesting. Perhaps they can bite, unless you misidentified it in your youth and obvious state of panic. **hammerbach** : Nah, it’s a logical NOT on gender. (It turns a 1 into a 0 and vice-versa.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/30 "2003-11-26T21:34:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > **There was a GQ thread that contained a post where a roach was scaled up to be six-foot tall at the shoulder. The animal underwent major modifications and still couldn’t be seen as a viable lifeform.** [One of my all-time favorite threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60812). (I nominated it for [Threadspotting](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/threadspotting.html).) ---
**Author:** ![Bluesman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@Bluesman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluesman)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/31 "2003-11-26T22:53:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > [B > **Lucretia** : Interesting. Perhaps they can bite, unless you misidentified it in your youth and obvious state of panic. > > [\*\* Nope, definitely didn’t misidentify. I grew up in quite a rural area, and was quite familiar with DLLs, and knew one when I saw it. And before my attacker was smushed, my father saw it too, and also quite clearly remembers it being a DLL. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/32 "2003-11-26T23:02:36Z")
**Lucretia** , **Bluesman** , have you met somewhere? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/33 "2003-11-27T02:12:39Z")
Oh, dernit. That, of course, was me, not **Bluesman**. ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/34 "2003-11-27T02:32:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > **[snopes calls the whole thing bogus](http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/longlegs.htm). …there’s no reason to think it would be true.** I dunno about the rest of you, but when it comes to creepies, crawlies and critters, just because there is no reason to think it would be true, to me means that there is no reason to think it would be untrue. Benefit of the doubt goes to the little bastard that can bite me. Spent too much time in the desert where damn near everything that crawled was poisonous. Plus I’m not too fond (read: scared of) spiders in general even though I let them go. I hate em, but they eat things I hate even more. ---
**Author:** ![markdiscordia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@markdiscordia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdiscordia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/35 "2003-11-27T03:36:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*An insect scaled up to the size of a baseball would run into fundamental problems with breathing and keeping itself from collapsing in on itself (especially when molting). \*\* What about giant hissing roaches and prehistoric dragonflies? Bigger than a foot, easily. ---
**Author:** ![lollipop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@lollipop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lollipop)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/36 "2003-11-27T06:54:20Z")
I think this sums it all up. DDl do not have fangs or venom, eat plants and decaying matter. Dll Spider has fangs and venom and eats other critters. Like others have said and according to multiple universities, there is no documentation available to show that the DLL spider can harm humans in any way (Short of a heart attack as they are ungly little guys). [http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html](http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/37 "2003-11-27T08:45:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hammerbach \* > \*\*[geek humor] Wow, an XOR operation on the gender flag. That could come in handy with some folks I know… [/geek humor] \*\* [geek nitpick] Wouldn’t it be a simple NOT operation? What are you XORing with?[/geek nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/38 "2003-11-27T16:11:39Z")
Sorry, should have been “beer-soaked late night sleep deprived geek humor”. I"l try to keep it to myself… ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/39 "2003-11-27T16:27:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*I have often heard that the daddy longlegs spider is one of the most poisonous, if not the most poisonous, animals on Earth, but that it’s harmless because its mouthparts are too small to penetrate human flesh. > \*\* This is another [Urban Legend](http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html). > [@](#): > > There is no scientific basis for the supposition that they are deadly poisonous and there is no reason to assume that it is true. So even if the spider were the size of \, it couldn’t kill you with its venom. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/40 "2003-11-27T17:05:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > \*\*Well the giant evil robotic one from _Johnny Quest_ certainly had the capacity to kill people. Heck, a direct hit from a tank blast only brushed it back slightly. \*\* DAMMIT! Beaten to the punch _again!_ :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263.md?page=3)