daddy long-legs
informal

- any of various arachnids of the family Pholcidae, having a small rounded body and long slender legs

- a harvestman (US)

- a crane fly (UK)

Pholcidae

- a family of spiders having very long slender legs and weaving irregular webs in which they rest with the back downward

The Farlex Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

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ORIGIN

The Pholcidae are a 50 million year old family of spiders first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1850.

The family contains over 1,800 individual species, including those commonly known as: daddy long-legs, daddy long-legger, carpenter spider, gyrating spider, long daddy, marbled cellar spider, skull spider, vibrating spider.

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HOW A SPIDER HELPED DEFEAT THE ENGLISH

Robert de Bruce was King of Scotland in the 1300s. His brother was executed and his queen was held captive by the English. According to legend, during a long night whilst hiding in a stable, he was seriously considering admitting defeat.

Suddenly he noticed a persistent little spider on one of the wooden beams above him attempting to weave a web.

The spider was trying to swing itself to the other beam, failing on the sixth swing. Having failed in his fight against the English on his sixth battle, Robert de Bruce watched the spider with growing interest.

He vowed that if the spider failed upon the seventh try, he too would give up all hope.

The spider swung a seventh time, successfully crossing that little gap before beginning to spin its web.

In 1314, Robert de Bruce, after eight long years of fighting, finally defeated the English in his seventh battle and regained his crown.

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LUCKY SPIDERS

A fear of spiders, academically known as arachnophobia is one of the most common known phobias in the UK. But despite their bad reputation these creatures have a long history of being revered and worshipped:

“If you wish to live and thrive, let a spider run alive.” – Old English nursery rhyme.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“For those afraid of DADDY LONG-LEGS, there are a now number of ‘digital therapy Apps’ for treating spider-phobia.”

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith