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Tarantulas |
| edHelper's suggested reading level: | grades 4 to 8 | |
| Flesch-Kincaid grade level: | 10.98 |
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| Tarantulas |
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1 Originally, the word "tarantula" was the name of a specific species of wolf spiders called the Lycosa tarantula. People were scared of this spider, because they believed unfoundedly that it spread the disease "tarantism" in southern Europe. The illness, thought to be inflicted by tarantulas' bites, was first recorded in medical journals in the 14th century. Tarantism reached its peak in the 17th century. According to the local belief, the only cure was to dance to certain music -- tarantella -- for days or even weeks.