Staunton Star - Times - Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years

By: Jill Pertler

It all started with a quote on social media: “Imagine if spiders screamed when you found them.”

First off, wouldn’t that make finding a spider doubly scary? At least horror movie jump scary. I, for one, am glad spiders are incapable of screaming – at least at a vibrational level that is heard by mere human ears.

But, beyond that, this got me thinking.

What if snakes were afraid of us because our arms and legs made us look all gangly, dangly and threatening? What if they cringed at the thought of our skin - its soft and suppleness making it ugly, not at all beautifully scaly an...