Solifugae - aka. Camel spiders became an Internet sensation during the Iraq war of 2003, when rumors of their bloodthirsty nature began to circulate online
I knew a guy who knew a guy who had a friend who was in Iraq around the same time and he said his friend spotted a camel spider running toward them on its hind legs. He unloaded on it with a SAW and blew off a few limbs but it still didn't die!
I did see a guy beat what was supposedly a baby camel spider with a pushbroom, and it didn't die, so he grabbed a foot locker and dropped it on top of it, and that definitely killed it.
I dunno, I'm a lady and it didn't scare me. Most male soldiers had a high n' tight haircut, which leaves longer hair on the top of the head, about an inch in length at most. Also, barbers weren't exactly readily available all the time, and hair regulations kind of went out the window depending on your location in county.
Right. They're using lens foreshortening to make it appear much larger. But we didn't know that back then until after furiously googling in terror after seeing that picture.
The Wikipedia page makes them seem pretty mundane. Desert bugs that est other bugs and carrion. Most are apparently the size of scorpions or tarantulas?