Arachnology 102: More Spiders On Drugs
So, that spoof was based on a set of real experiments performed in the sixties by the Swiss reseacher Peter Witt. Below are some photographs of the actual webs, taken from the Proceedings of the Athanasious Kircher Society website:
A drug-free, "normal" web:
A spider on hashish:
A spider on mescaline:
A spider on caffeine:
And a spider on LSD:
There was no "crack-cocaine" spider.
Quite frankly, the results of these experiments are making me wonder whether I've got it all backwards, drinking four cups of coffee a day and staying away from the rest of it. I can't tell whether the LSD web is "minimalist" (i.e., lacking threads) or if the lighting just obscures the finer threads. It seems somewhat less "inspired" than I might have imagined.
So, that spoof was based on a set of real experiments performed in the sixties by the Swiss reseacher Peter Witt. Below are some photographs of the actual webs, taken from the Proceedings of the Athanasious Kircher Society website:
A drug-free, "normal" web:
A spider on hashish:
A spider on mescaline:
A spider on caffeine:
And a spider on LSD:
There was no "crack-cocaine" spider.
Quite frankly, the results of these experiments are making me wonder whether I've got it all backwards, drinking four cups of coffee a day and staying away from the rest of it. I can't tell whether the LSD web is "minimalist" (i.e., lacking threads) or if the lighting just obscures the finer threads. It seems somewhat less "inspired" than I might have imagined.
posted by Lady Bonds at 21:14
12 Comments:
Since The Fool went and used the "M" word, I've decided to boycott the Dark. Just thought I'd drop in and see who the recent conspirators are. Nice digs. Where do I throw my sleeping bag?
dust; Welcome. There's a nice spot to curl up by the spiders, so long as you're not squeamish about those sorts of things.
Boycotting the Dark, eh? Wouldn't recommend it. Besides, this time of year, that'll require moving to Patagonia. Which might not be such a bad thing...you could hang out with the vicuñas. Actually, I've been meaning to get a herd of vicuñas for the blog anyway.
But wait. The Fool *qualified* its use of the "M" word: did you take offense at the very presence of the word, or at the qualifications thereof?
Pay no attention to Dust. Dust banters the "M" word more than most. That's probably a "hello." Be careful about inviting D in though, the spiders may not be safe.
FYI: A gent from the tax movie has responded at length to provide you information. "We" may have been called "ignorant" - he states - "you are either informed or ignorant" as his way of introducing his info to you/us. And what of the ignorantly informed? I don't think he's quite clear on what soil you stand either. Would you care to respond, or should I? Careful, he might move in with Dust and the spiders...and bring friends.
And I have been reduced to an "it?" Ha! I accept.
If you give them gingko biloba, the spiders write "Go Pig" in the web.
nope, that's the result of being a true friend and a good writer.
dust; "Marx!" "Sartre!" "Fred Jameson!" (Apparently this means hello). Do you have a home or are you a nomad? (My other nomadic friend, a, who actually *does* have a home, can be found at the ontophylogeny of the nomad.)
Please do be kind to the spiders, however; we practice an anti-discrimination policy towards different species around here.
Fool; Oh my. Between Steve and fogy411, I've got plenty of work cut out for me, far too much to be able to comment responsibly on the tax many thanks for the tip off.
And as for your question, Fool, I readily qualify to be in the "ignorant" camp. Please do feel free to respond to your friend, and I'll try to do so shortly.
As for what "soil" I stand on...oh my. Given the late hour (Paris time), and my own interest in the question, I'll just have to incorporate it into a post soon...The short answer is, however, that I am neither conservative nor liberal (I find the distinction between 'conservative' and 'liberal' as being peculiar to American, perhaps anglo-american political culture, and thus as misleading when applied to broader political or intellectual phenomena).
But more shall be uncovered, as it should be, in time and in talk...there will be time, there will be time, for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of a toast and tea...
Ah, the proof is in the rock, for in a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
I think fogy crashed Steve's site with his rebuttal to the rebuttal. It is best to leave this between them. I anticipate the rebuttal to the rebuttal of the rebuttal to be even more heavily footnote laden.
I shall wear white flannele trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think they will sing to me.
Zen; are you trying to sell me something?
I woke up this morning and they're still going at it in the back lot. S sent F his r to the r to the r. It's getting algebraic...I had to leave. I'll wander while 'til things cool. Don't know about D, but I checked the link to your friend. Almost got sucked into a La-cough-ian linguistics discussion. It's quiet here, so maybe I'll browse more there. Later.
It seems appropriate to conclude (continue?) our discussion of this post with the following gem.
The spiders were simply following the advice of a wise man, my friends.
I quite agree, dear Lady Bonds. The LSD web seems, if anything, rather simple and quaint.
It would be the kind of pattern a French grandmother might sew into a pair of woollen bermuda shorts for a beloved grandchild.
The grandmother may well be high as a kite on LSD during the creative process, I grant you. Still, better that than the unwearable garment a coffee-soaked granny would doubtless stich up...
I just figured the gingko biloba would make the spider as smart as the Charlotte's Web spider.
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