AOG Day 11

“We have four individual competitors for the Web Weaving Competition this morning. Welcome, Everyone, and thanks for tuning in. Not all spiders produce silk, so this event is limited to those who do. The silk actually comes from spinneret glands on the tip of the abdomen, and they’re able to produce different kinds of silk too. Webs come in five styles: spiral orb, tangle, funnel, tubular and sheet. All are created to catch prey to eat, with the exception of two: the funnel and the tubular, which are built for shelter and for hiding. You know, so they can sneak up on unsuspecting insects! Boo! Gotcha! Their skills are just extraordinary, and we’ll see that on display here over these last few days of the AOG. Now, let’s review the event. The athletes can create their web anywhere in the Olympic Village. The one rule is it cannot threaten or harm any of the other athletes, spectators or judges. Or media reporters like me. Their webs will be scored on a number of variables, such as speed to completion, quality and tensile strength, elasticity and stickiness. There’s no minimizing how difficult this Web Weaving Challenge will be. Once the webs are completed, judged, and awards presented, the athletes are expected to remove their webs by consuming them. Yes, you heard me. Consume them. They’re loaded with protein and we can’t have them dangling and disintegrating all over the place. It would be unsightly, but I digress. Let me wrap up here by saying the weather conditions are perfect for spinning a few stories, and webs!”