Oh, What A Tangled Web Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charlotte's species of spider

Charlotte gives her full name as "Charlotte A. Cavatica"; Araneus cavaticus is the scientific name for a Barn Spider. Of course, if you've read the book or seen one of the movies based on it, you know that Charlotte does end up dying, and that Wilbur was truly going to be slaughtered.

Answer: Sir Walter Scott

While it sounds suspiciously like something Shakespeare would have written, this line is actually from Scott's epic "Marmion". The poem, first published in 1808, concerns itself with the Battle of Flodden Field, which occurred in 1513.

Answer: Shelob

According to "The Two Towers", Shelob was an 'evil thing in spider form', 'child of Ungoliant' and pre-dated even the Dark Lord himself! As an interesting aside, her name, according to Tolkien, came from 'she' and 'lob', the latter of which is an Old English word for (what else!) spider.

Answer: Athena

After Athena had cursed Arachne, she (Arachne) went and hung herself. According to different versions of the story, Athena either repented of her anger or felt that Arachne hadn't suffered long enough. Either way, she brought Arachne back to life but with a different form - that of a spider, so that she and her descendants would always be weavers.

Answer: Black Spider

Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Spider-Girl are all characters from competitor Marvel's comics. Black Spider has had several alter egos throughout the years, but the first was a heroin-addicted, small-time crook named Eric Needham.

Answer: His farm

Apparently, Anansi made quite a habit of cheating others! The story goes that after he had lost the farm to Anansi, Chameleon came up with a plan to get back at Anansi; while I won't give the whole thing away, the plan did involve a deep tunnel and some old vines!

Answer: Aragog

Aragog is Hagrid's pet, but Mosag is his wife/mate. Acromantula is a species of magical spider, and Crookshanks is Hermione's pet for books 3-6.

Answer: Brazilian Wandering Spider

While all of these are, to varying degrees venomous, it was the Brazilian Wandering Spider that the folks at "Guinness" bestowed this dubious honor upon. Despite their name, these arachnids are found over a wide range of South America, with one species in Central America.

The Black Widow is a common name for at least four different species of spider; three of them live throughout North America, with one in Eurasia. Sydney Funnel-web Spiders are native to Australia, usually within a 62 mile (100km) radius of Sydney. Indian Ornamental Tree Spider bites, while capable of causing pain sometimes described as severe are not considered to be dangerous; indeed, they are a popular choice for hobbyists who want an arboreal tarantula as a pet.

Answer: Muffet

As a child, I was always baffled by the word 'tuffet'...in case you also wondered, it can mean either a tuft of clump of something (like grass) or a small footstool/low seat. The nursery-rhyme first appeared in print in 1805, in a book titled 'Songs for the Nursery'.

Answer: Walt Whitman

Yes, this is Whitman - not only is it the title of his poem, but the opening line as well. The poem is about the author sitting and watching a spider ballooning off. Frost is perhaps best remembered for his work 'The Road Not Taken'; Moore wrote 'The Pangolin and other verses', and 'O to Be a Dragon'. Rimbaud penned 'Le bateau ivre' among others.