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Old 09-08-2005, 02:48 PM
hoosier hoosier is offline
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School District in Philippines Bans Gambling on Spider Fights -

According to the Minda News in Mindanao, Philippines, the biggest problem for the local school district isn't truancy, drugs or teen pregnancy. It's playing spiders--at least for money--which it has now been officially banned. If you don't know what "playing spiders" is, you're not alone. Most of the world fears spiders (or at least leaves them alone) but the kids in Mindanao have turned them into the latest gambling craze. According to an article in Maxim the wagering starts after the kids "get a couple of big, hairy spiders, put ‘em each on a stick, and make the poor suckers fight to the death, or until one has completely wrapped the other in a silky cocoon." (Didn't Mr. Rogers do that frequently on his TV show?) The best combatants are kept in matchboxes, and a champion can fetch 100 pesos, or $2.40, which is about a year's worth of wages for most people in the Philippines (we could be a little off on that fact). In addition to the actual spider fighting and gambling that goes along with it, the kids also spend most of their free time (and frequently skip school) finding these monster in trees, although some claim the best areas to find them are beneath power lines. (No nuclear power plants nearby, eh kids?) Superintendent Dr. Goria Mudanza was forced to prohibit school children from playing spiders for gambling purposes after visiting one local schoolyard. "I was shocked upon seeing these school children holding a piece of stick broom where the spiders are fighting, while the rest from the group are yelling while holding the bet money."
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