# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/41 "2003-11-27T17:17:05Z")
I thought the real name of daddy long-legs was the crane fly? ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/42 "2003-11-27T17:20:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Griffin \* > \*\*I thought the real name of daddy long-legs was the crane fly? \*\* It’s regional, the term daddy long legs means different things in different parts of the United States and the United Kingdom. these include a couple of groups (classes, families???) of spiders, harvestmen and the crane fly. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/43 "2003-11-27T19:08:46Z")
Hey, ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/44 "2003-11-27T19:12:27Z")
I’ll try this again… Hey, **Evil Captor** , wanna buy some suicidal lemmings? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/45 "2003-11-27T19:28:31Z")
Presumably, it would only have to achieve medium size, so long as it had a 1920’s style death ray. :ducks and runs for cover: ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/46 "2003-11-27T20:39:13Z")
Excellent point, **dances**. In fact I’d say that much of our visceral fear of these creatures dates back to the DLL wars in Iowa in the late 1920’s. While the harvestmen did the most damage overall, the crane flies overcame relatively weak trigger pulls and actually got the weapons airborne! The resulting damage was of such magnitude that The Government had to issue an official cover up story known to later generations as, “The Dustbowl.” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/47 "2003-11-27T21:25:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jimpatro \* > \*\*I’ll try this again… > > Hey, **Evil Captor** , wanna buy some suicidal lemmings? 🆒 \*\* Just as soon as I get through making payments on my giant pet rock. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263/48 "2003-11-27T23:15:48Z")
Here’s a story you don’t want your wife to read. Once I was with the family in the park. We were sitting at one of those concrete picnic tables when I dropped a fork and leaned over to pick it up. I’m not usually squeamish but in this case I made an exception. Much to my dismay I discovered that underneath the tabletop there were perhaps thousands of daddy long legs all huddled together in a pulsating mass. We made a quck exit. mass [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-would-a-daddy-longlegs-have-to-be-to-kill-people/215263.md?page=2)