Path: N4DDL!WA4DTE!WD4ELJ!WA2PVV!W1NY!WB1DSW!KC1PK!K1BPM
Date: 11 Mar 91 09:51:14 Z
From: W1VRK@K1BPM
To: INFO@USA
Subject: Danger: Deadly Plants!
Sysops: This bulletin redirected to @ USA from @ NEBBS by WA2PVV using
the orignal @ NEBBS BID 580_K1BPM
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THIS IS A TRUE STORY !!
Last week the daughter of a friend of mine called her dad
with the following scary story........
She owns a 1 to 2 foot tall cactus houseplant - a bulbous type,
smooth skinned with a few warts but no needles. She feeds it about
1/2 cup of water once a week - and has for 2 or 3 years.
Last week after watering the plant she was startled to notice
it wiggling a bit and "humming" !! She called her local
florist to ask what could be the meaning of that strange
behaviour by her placid houseplant.
"GIVE ME YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AND GET OUT OF YOUR
HOUSE AT ONCE - DON'T EVEN WAIT TO GET AN OVERCOAT -
LEAVE AT ONCE, CLOSE THE DOOR AND CALL ME FROM A
NEIGHBOR'S!!"
Thoroughly frightened she did as instructed and called when she
arrived at her neighbor's home. "The exterminator is on the way to
your home" she was informed. "What you have is a cactus that is
ready to literally explode at any moment. It is jammed full of
thousands of baby tarantula poison spiders! Should the plant explode
your home will be unlivable from that point on -you would never find
them all. They are extremely poisonous and that is how they breed -
in that variety of cactus plant!"
When the exterminator arrived, he first sprayed the plant
with poison and then quickly put it in a large plastic bag
and filled the bag with poison gas. The cactus exploded and
the bag filled to capacity and then slowly deflated. None
of the tarantulas escaped. Had the plant exploded at night
when she was home asleep, there is no telling of the
ensuing havoc!
I think she was extremely fortunate in having accidentally called
a very knowledgable florist who was far more than just a seller
of flowers and making a point of doing so! How many of us would
have just shrugged it off?
Another friend of mine was shown a similar plant in the west a
few years ago growing natuarally in the desert and was advised
never to get near them as they are known to harbinger poison
spiders.
Do you have any friends who have smoooth-skinned cactus plants in
their home?
