# Removing a Spider, Then Not Washing the Glass **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469 "2008-05-24T13:36:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/61 "2008-05-26T19:26:03Z")
Irrational is expecting the wife to drink from the spider glass. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/62 "2008-05-26T19:38:34Z")
‘Irrational’ is spending more time arguing about whether the spider glass should be cleaned than it takes to clean the spider glass. ---
**Author:** ![Polyperchon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Polyperchon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyperchon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/63 "2008-05-26T20:02:04Z")
I’m totally with your wife. Spiders are the 8-legged minions of the devil and whatever they step on must be purged in the heated depths of the dishwasher. The thing is, spiders can’t hurt me. And yet I will scream like the girl I am when I see one, and if some bugger brings one near me you bet your ass I can cry and make them feel bad. If I’m home alone and have to deal with one, I do it cringingly and after a stiff drink and knowing full well I’m an irrational idiot. Unless your wife is germophobic about other things, chances are she knows bugs and other gross whatnot get on the glasses everyday and she still drinks out of them. But spiders? It’s a phobia. A common, stupid, irrational (although aren’t they all?) one but one none the less, and teasing her and not rinsing the glasses even though it freaks her out? Making a big deal over how stupid she’s being? That’s kinda being a dick. Do you have no irrational fears? Flying? Heights? The dark? Alien abduction? Or stupid superstitions? Lucky t-shirts? Lucky numbers? Lucky underwear? Because I’m sure there’s a million things your wife thinks are ridiculous that she does for you, and doesn’t roll her eyes and tell you to suck it up because it’s illogical. Just rinse the damn glass, it takes two seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/64 "2008-05-26T20:37:33Z")
I suggest acquiring a pet tarantula. Keep emphasizing to you wife how _cute_ your little monster is, perhaps dressing it in a tiny little outfit. Call it “Mr. Happy Spider”. Dealing with a gigantic hairy spider with a dangling, bulbous abdomen and visibly sharp, terror-inducing fangs on a daily basis will reduce any possible reaction to the ordinary house spider to a mere nothing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/65 "2008-05-26T21:41:02Z")
Just wash the dang glass. It’s a small gesture that will make your wife happy. Surely she does little things for you just because she loves you. Also, it’s had a bug in it! Ewww! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/66 "2008-05-27T00:42:37Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I said, go ahead and rinse the glass. But you can’t put this on the male here being irrational. He is being rational, his wife is not. [/QUOTE] He’s being rational by not cleaning the glass? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/67 "2008-05-27T02:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Malthus] I suggest acquiring a pet tarantula. Keep emphasizing to you wife how _cute_ your little monster is, perhaps dressing it in a tiny little outfit. Call it “Mr. Happy Spider”. Dealing with a gigantic hairy spider with a dangling, bulbous abdomen and visibly sharp, terror-inducing fangs on a daily basis will reduce any possible reaction to the ordinary house spider to a mere nothing. 😃 [/QUOTE] A vivid picture just flashed through my mind of a tarantula in a frilly pink tutu, and then I started giggling. Now my co-worker thinks I’m nuts. Oh, well, I’m new here, it was bound to come out sooner or later. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/68 "2008-05-27T03:49:59Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Tell her that for all she knows, spiders are crawling around in the dark inside the cabinets and have touched _all the glasses_. I wouldn’t wash the glass for a spider. I would wash it for a cockroach. [/QUOTE] Why? You think cockroaches would walk through poop but spiders wouldn’t? You think cockroaches aren’t housebroken but spiders are? Wash the fucking glass, man. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/69 "2008-05-27T13:12:52Z")
spiders are our friends. Reading this thread, I had an unwelcome memory. Pregnant women drink more liquid, so while I was expecting CairoSon I usually had a glass of water by the bedside. One night, I left the glass of water on a nearby table, but it wasn’t next to the bed. I woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, debating which was stronger: my urge to get out of bed and get the water, or my urge to go back to sleep. The latter urge won, and I returned to sleep. The next day, I saw the glass of water I had so desired in the night: THERE WAS A ROACH FLOATING IN IT. Had I gone and sipped from that glass in the dark of the night, i probably wouldn’t be here today. I would have died on the spot, because you just can’t drink up a roach and live. The memory would have been too haunting; instant death would have been the only way out. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/70 "2008-05-27T13:29:29Z")
Here’s a newsflash: spiders **poop**! And if anything’s going to cause a spider to lose control of its bowels (do spiders have bowels?) it’s being scooped up in a giant transparent THING, covered over with a card, jiggled about and tipped out of a window. I use a glass for spider duty on spiders bigger than about -----\> . . . . . . . \<----- that size. Anything smaller is picked up manually. The glass just gets put in the dishwasher. If I didn’t have a dishwasher, a quick rinse out with hot water would be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/71 "2008-05-27T13:29:32Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] A vivid picture just flashed through my mind of a tarantula in a frilly pink tutu, and then I started giggling. Now my co-worker thinks I’m nuts. Oh, well, I’m new here, it was bound to come out sooner or later. [/QUOTE] Getting the spider to wear the tutu is the easy part. Getting it to dance ballet is harder. They keep wanting to do that flashy _Spanish_ dance. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/72 "2008-05-27T14:34:25Z")
I would always wash the glass - it’s nothing at all to do with concern about contamination from dirty spider-feet or spider-arses or anything - it’s just that the glass was used to contain a spider, therefore it gets washed. I’d do the same if I used the glass as a template to draw a circle, or if I used it as a temporary container for clean toothpicks. Glass comes out of cupboard \> is used (for anything) \> is washed \> dried \> returned to cupboard I suggest you honour your wife’s desire, even if you consider it technically unnecessary - for several reasons: –It’s no extra hassle to do what she asks –It errs on the side of safety and cleanliness, as regarded by all concerned –If you don’t, she will drop spiders into your open mouth while you sleep ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/73 "2008-05-27T14:46:38Z")
I can see my SO and I arguing over this exact thing. 😃 He’s the type to want to gently move the spider back outside, and I bet he’d see nothing wrong with not washing the glass. I’m of the “Agghh! Spider! Kill it, kill it NOW!” mindset, but I’d want the glass washed (not just rinsed) if it was used to transport a spider. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/74 "2008-05-27T15:14:19Z")
1.) This whole [roblem can be avoided by simply squishing the spider in the first place, wiping it up with a paper towel, and throwing it out. No glass even involved. Yeah, yeah. I know that spiders are our friends and kill off unwanted pests and all. But I generally have plenty of spiders. Saving just one is not an issue. You can store up your karma by not killing without casuse, but I say squish 'em. 2.) If I did pick up a spider in a glass, I’d wash it. I’m not put off by spiders. I think my cats are cuddly and cute. ut I’d wash a glass they stuck their paw into. Heck, I always wash my glasss after they drink out of it (which they do all the time. I continually wash out their water dish so it stays clean, but they KNOW my water’s better.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/75 "2008-05-27T15:20:06Z")
Welcome, **Polyperchon**. Based on that post, I think me and you are going to get along just fine! Once when my son was a baby, I found an bottle that he had drained and left on the floor. In the clear nipple, with its hideous little face held up to the hole, was a tiny spider screaming “help me! help me!” Well, no, but it would have been if it wasn’t already dead. I freaked and called Poison Control, but they basically said to just keep an eye on the baby. Apparently he was fine because he is now eleven and doesn’t do whatever a spider can. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/76 "2008-05-27T15:25:39Z")
[Male spiders reproductive organs are on their feet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider#Reproduction). You might not have to care about poison or germs, but what it ol’ Itsy Bitsy is in your glass right now, masturbating like a motherfuck? You are then engaging in what can only be termed arachnid bukakke. You sicko. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/77 "2008-05-27T15:43:04Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] [Male spiders reproductive organs are on their feet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider#Reproduction). You might not have to care about poison or germs, but what it ol’ Itsy Bitsy is in your glass right now, masturbating like a motherfuck? You are then engaging in what can only be termed **arachnid bukakke**. You sicko. [/QUOTE] Band name! ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/78 "2008-05-27T16:25:00Z")
Thank you, **Claricaun!** This is why I personally would throw the damn glass away. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/79 "2008-05-28T01:45:46Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] He’s being rational by not cleaning the glass? 😕 [/QUOTE] Yes. Spiders are not dirty. And they are everywhere, you likely don’t have a spider free square foot in the house that isn’t hermetically sealed. However, I have said that it is a small gesture on his part and he should do it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469/80 "2008-05-28T01:58:18Z")
> [@](#): > > This whole problem can be avoided by simply squishing the spider in the first place, wiping it up with a paper towel, and throwing it out. Yuck! And now you’ve got spider guts smeared on your wall. I don’t see what’s so hard about a designated spider glass/can/jar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-a-spider-then-not-washing-the-glass/450469.md?page=3)