The redback spider is a species of venomous spider indigenous to
Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the
widow spiders. The adult female has a black body with a prominent
abdominal red stripe (pictured). Females have a body length of about 10
millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only
3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Mainly nocturnal, the female lives in
an untidy-looking web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or
inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small
vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. Males and spiderlings often
live on the periphery of the female's web and steal leftovers. The
redback is one of few arachnids that usually display sexual cannibalism
while mating. It is widespread in Australia, and inadvertent
introductions have led to established colonies in New Zealand, Japan and
in greenhouses in Belgium. The redback is one of the few spider species
that can be seriously harmful to humans. An antivenom has been available
since 1956, but its effectiveness has recently been questioned. No
deaths directly due to redback bites have occurred since its
introduction.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1154:
Henry II was crowned King of England in London's Westminster
Abbey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England>
1843:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (pictured), a novella
about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his conversion after being visited
by three Christmas ghosts, was first published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
1956:
Irish-born British physician John Bodkin Adams was arrested in
connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 of his patients,
although he was only convicted on minor charges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bodkin_Adams>
1981:
Sixteen lives were lost when a Penlee lifeboat went to the aid
of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas off the south-west
coast of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penlee_lifeboat_disaster>
1986:
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev released dissident Andrei
Sakharov after six years of internal exile in Gorky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Sakharov>
1998:
The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill
Clinton following the Lewinsky scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
doomsayer:
One who makes dire predictions about the future; one fond of predicting
disaster.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doomsayer>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if
persevered in, they must lead", said Scrooge. "But if the courses be
departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show
me!" The Spirit was immovable as ever.
--A Christmas Carol
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>