Friday, March 20, 2009

Why Fosco Wears Gloves at the Market

On "Foodie Friday," we shop at Whole Foods.

Big news in Santa Cruz this week: Whole Foods is open! Fosco is thrilled--finally, Santa Cruz can join world-class cities like Reston, Virginia and Sugar Land, Texas! Whee!

In honor of the local Whole Foods grand opening, Fosco would like to call your attention to this article from the HuffPo. Apparently,

One of the most deadly spiders in the world has been found in the produce section of a Tulsa grocery store. An employee of Whole Foods Market found the Brazilian Wandering Spider Sunday in bananas from Honduras and managed to catch it in a container.
Fosco read this report five minutes ago and he's still got the chills. He would love to include a photograph of this spider in this post, but as something of an arachnophobe, Fosco doesn't even want to touch a picture of a spider. [shiver]

In related news, equally venomous Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn was sighted at the same Whole Foods, lurking behind the bulk bins. I find pictures of him to be equally shudder-inducing.

UPDATE: Thanks to Todd (I swear he's like FL!'s "citizen reporter"), some corrections are necessary:
  1. There is now the suggestion that the spider was misidentified. The spider was probably a member of a different, harmless species. However, it will be impossible to say for sure as the original spider was destroyed by the University of Tulsa. (The funny part of this story is the surprise and outrage over the destruction of the original spider. As far as Fosco was concerned, that's exactly what you're supposed to do to spiders.)
  2. Fosco does not actually wear gloves at the market. He also never buys bananas.
  3. Venomous senator Tom Coburn was not seen at the same Whole Foods. Rather, according to eyewitnesses, he was spotted at Tulsa's Blossom Day Care Center, feasting on tender babies. We apologize to Senator Coburn for this error.

7 comments:

todd said...

According to this the spider was misidentified and is harmless.

Jill said...

I'm back...tarantulas are supposed to hang out in bananas too. I HATE spiders. Turns out, we have huge hairy tarantulas in El Paso. I keep thinking I'll get used to it, but every time I see one (luckily, not more than around 3 times a year) I still throw my arms up in the air and scream like a little girl. I'm glad you didn't include the photo.

FOSCO said...

@Todd: Thanks! Post is now updated. What would I do without you, T?

@Jill: I've read in the local papers that there are lots of wild tarantulas on the SF Peninsula (and in Marin County). I have yet to see one here, but I think I would faint if I did.

Anonymous said...

I somehow misread "Brazilian Wandering Spider Sunday" as "Brazilian Wandering Spider Sundae", which is even more upsetting.

FOSCO said...

@Anonymous: Eek! That is hilarious, but terrifying. It might be a decent Halloween treat for small children, though.

Jeremy said...

My partner-in-crime's mother found a scorpion in a bunch of langsats imported from Thailand. (Incidentally, the langsat is one of my two new favorite fruits.)

FOSCO said...

@Jeremy: Eek! Actually, I once found a severed human hand inside a pumpkin.