127. Spiders

An Italian folk dance has origins in medieval beliefs about a spider bite. Japanese folklore has a shapeshifting spider that lures young men. An 18th century illustration is behind the name of one of the world's largest spiders. Alongside these histories, this episode uncovers the origins of words such as cobweb, Anansi, matriphagy, tarantula, Jorogumo, arachnomelia, chelated and autotomy. Transition sound by https://audionautix.com - https://www.youtube.c...