The Wizard’s Apprentice

This is better than the famous Mickey Mouse version because it features a pretty girl.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 25, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Movies, Music, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1930s

Penal Self-Mutilation

Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 20, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Prisons, 1930s, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise

The Spider That Waged A Battle Against A Clock

I wrote this article about eight years ago for a site that has now gone dark. So I'm reposting it here.

The Internet has made many animals famous, such as Grumpy Cat, Darwin the Ikea Monkey, and Sockington the Twitter Cat. But as this brief list suggests, Internet-famous animals tend to be either pets or species that biologists describe as "charismatic" — meaning ones that people can easily identify with. Insects don't get much love.

This hasn't always been the case. If we look back to 1932, we find an example of a spider that achieved overnight celebrity status, with the media producing daily reports of its adventures. It's the curious case of the "spider in a clock."

The spider's rise to fame began on the morning of November 20, 1932 at 552 Parker Ave in Barberton, Ohio (a suburb of Akron). Louise Thompson rolled over in bed, turned off her alarm clock, and then noticed a "tiny black dot" moving across the face of the timepiece.

Closer examination by her husband, Cyril, revealed that the dot was a small spider. It had somehow gotten into the space between the face of the clock and the glass, and it was attempting to spin a web between the minute and hour hands. It succeeded in briefly attaching a fine thread of gossamer between the two hands, but as the minute hand slowly advanced the thread broke. No matter. The spider climbed up the face of the clock and began its effort all over again, only to have the thread broken for a second time. The couple watched as the spider continued to repeat this cycle over and over.

The next morning the spider was still there, still trying to build its ill-fated web. And it remained there the day after, and the day after that.

The Thompsons shared the story of the clock-battling spider with their neighbors, and soon people started dropping by to see it. Eventually, someone contacted the media.

By the time a reporter first saw the spider — around December 7, 1932 — the insect had grown to the size of an ordinary house spider, and the hands of the clock were covered with fine threads.

How had the spider managed to grow without any obvious source of food? And how had it gotten into the clock in the first place? These were the mysteries that the spider presented.

The reporter interviewed the Thompson's two children. Young tommy thought the spider was boring, but his sister, Mary Louise, was fascinated by it, admiring the way it kept at its task despite constant defeat. She said, "He must be awfully brave."

Wilkes Barre Times Leader - Dec 10, 1932

Evidently much of the American public agreed with Mary Louise, because after the first story about the spider (distributed by the Associated Press) appeared in papers, interest in the arachnid swelled. The media responded by providing daily details of its adventures.


More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 14, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Insects and Spiders, 1930s

The Idea

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 08, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Philosophy, Allegories, Parables, Fables and Moral Lessons, Cartoons, 1930s

Death by Manhole Cover

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 26, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, Explosives, Luck, Good and Bad, Urban Life, 1930s

Lip Stencil

Beauty aid or torture device?

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 21, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Patents, 1930s

The Human Arrow

There is a non-embeddable video of this at the link.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 21, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, 1930s

Real Life Lassie

Visit page here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 14, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, Swamps and Other Bodies of Fresh Water, Dogs, 1930s, Courage, Bravery, Heroism and Valor

Suction-Cup Bathtub Slipper

Instead of providing safety, these look likely to kill the wearer, as the bather struggles to break the grip of the suction cups.

Full patent here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 02, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Hygiene, Inventions, Patents, 1930s, Feet

Odd Jobs for Eve

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 29, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Stereotypes and Cliches, Work and Vocational Training, 1930s, Women