Three young Bolivian brothers learnt quite the lesson after their attempt to become Spider-Man left them hospitalised with severe spider-bite injuries, Telemundo reports.
According to Bolivian health officials, the brothers – aged 12, 10 and 8, respectively – were going about their business in the town of Chayanta when they came across a black widow, one of the most venomous spiders in the world.
Thinking the spider would inject them with powers in a similar vein to the Marvel superhero, the boys prodded the black widow until they were all nipped by the webbed beast, said Ministry of Health official Virgilio Pietro.
Spider-Man, they did not become. Instead, they began experiencing troubling symptoms within minutes, and their mum had to ship them off to a local health facility.
The trio were ultimately transferred to the Children’s Hospital in La Paz, experiencing fevers, severe sweats and pains, and were discharged nearly a week later.
According to Telemundo, Pietro concluded his address by warning parents that, “for children, everything is real, movies are real, dreams can be real, and they are the illusion of our lifetime.” Ominous, indeed.
In Australia – home to many, many, many things – we’re obviously smart enough to steer clear of this tomfoolery. But, on the off chance that you ever feel tempted to test your fate with a spider – maybe you get drunk off White Claw when it comes Down Under later this year, or you resolve that a spider bite is the perfect way to achieve TikTok clout – I leave you with this final message: don’t. Leave it to Spider-Man.
Take it away, bitch.
