3 Boys Let Black Widow Bite Them Thinking It Would Turn Them To Spider-Man

Spider-man came into being after Peter Parker got bitten by a spider with modified genes in the laboratory. Perhaps this is what was on the mind of three young Bolivian brothers when they provoked a highly venomous black widow spider to bite them, reports say. They thought that the bite would turn them into superheroes with abilities like that of Spider-Man.

Provoking A Dangerous Arachnid

According to television broadcasting company Telemundo, the three young brothers, aged 8, 10, and 12, were out herding goats in Chayanta. As they were doing about their tasks, they saw a black widow spider, distinguishable for the bright red hourglass mark on its abdominal area. Seeing the shiny black body of the deadly arachnid, the brothers hit upon the idea of getting themselves bitten in the hopes that it would turn them into spider-men.

The Marvel-loving siblings prodded the arachnid with a stick, forcing her to fight back and bite them. Finally, the spider did bite each of them, one after another, according to Virgilio Pietro, the Head of Epidemiology of the Bolivian Health Ministry during a coronavirus briefing Saturday.

A Deadly Bite

Instead of developing superhero abilities, the young boys immediately developed a variety of symptoms from the spider’s venomous bite. These include increased heart rate, abdominal cramps, muscle spasms, and pain. The boys cried in agony to their mother, who found it prudent to rush them to a health center nearby. Finding the emergency is beyond their capacity; health workers decided to transfer the boys to a neighboring hospital.

Due to the severity of the symptoms of the brothers, the hospital transferred the would-be Peter Parkers to the Children’s Hospital in La Paz the following day. Telemundo reported their symptoms at the time of transfer include high fever, muscle pain, and tremors. Fortunately, doctors were able to treat them successfully, and on Wednesday, the young boys were discharged. They stayed in the hospital nearly a week after the incident.

Only An Illusion

Pietro shared the dramatic story during the briefing to warn parents that “for children everything is real, movies are real” — even though they are, in fact, an “illusion.” According to the epidemiologist, the venom of the black widow is 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake. It is, in fact, one of the most feared arachnids in the world with the most venomous found in North America, National Geographic revealed.

While a black widow’s bite is not often fatal, the elderly, the sick, and children are among those considered most at risk. National Geographic added that the arachnids are not usually aggressive and usually bite only in self-defense.