this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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i just wanna live (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Centipedes are scary because they have so many legs and they scurry very fast with incredible agility. In general I think we feel a revulsion to small critters with that kind of speed and agility. But if they’re too small (fly sized or smaller) then it’s more annoyance than revulsion.

The many legs thing is a real mystery though! I think it might be some kind of proxy for venomous critters, as spiders and centipedes have more legs than insects and also tend to be more venomous (apart from some Hymenopterans).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I dunno, silverfish are smaller than flies, but they still give me that revulsion response.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Me too. What's up with that? Gnats too.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago

I think they move too smoothly. I think it's maybe a combination of the "ew, tiny things are parasites" and the "ew, smooth-moving things are snakes" responses, even though neither of those is appropriate for the silverfish itself. I think that's part of what happens with the house millipedes, too.