Bad news true believers - a black widow spider bite will NOT grant you superhuman powers a'la Spider-Man.
According to Telemundo, three young Bolivian brothers had to be hospitalized after they tried to get a black widow spider to bite them because they believed it would turn them into Spider-Man.
The boys - ages 12, 10 and 8 - reportedly discovered the spider while herding goats in Chayanta, a Ministry of Health official said Saturday during a coronavirus briefing. The would-be superheros prodded the spider with a stick until it bit each one of them, the official, Virgilio Pietro, said.
After their mother discovered them crying, they were rushed to a nearby hospital where the Marvel-loving brothers were transferred to a nearby hospital, Telemundo said.
The children were later transferred to Children's Hospital in La Paz the next day with fevers, tremors, and muscle pains.
The three Spider-Man wannabes were treated and discharged on Wednesday, nearly a week after they were bitten by the spider.
Black widow spiders are often feared thanks to their powerful venom, which is 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake. The black widow is considered the most venomous in North America. Bites from a black widow spider are not generally fatal, experts say.
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