Have you ever stopped to contemplate how cranberries are grown before they arrive on your dinner plate on Thanksgiving? If not, you are in for a treat.
It turns out that cranberries grow in bogs, which in and of itself sounds like the beginning of an odd but scary film.
Not only do cranberries grow in bogs, but the bogs themselves are closely guarded by one fearsome creature: the wolf spider.
Apparently this is common knowledge for people who are from Massachusetts, but for the rest of us… here’s the story.
It all started when someone innocently asked why cranberries are always shown growing in a big pit.
Photo Credit: Cheezburger
For some of us, just the two words “The Bog” automatically conjures up images of, well, bog bodies. Yikes!
But apparently, The Bog is totally a thing. A Massachusetts thing.
Photo Credit: Cheezburger
Apparently, cranberries grow in the bog when it’s unflooded. When they’re ripe, the bog is flooded and the berries are collected in these hoops.
Photo Credit: Cheezburger
The bogs also have a useful little creature living within: the wolf spider.
Photo Credit: Cheezburger
This is all well and good until it’s time to flood the bog and retrieve the berries.
It turns out there’s a reason cranberry spiders ask prospective employees if they’re comfortable with spiders, and it’s a pretty wild one.
Photo Credit: Cheezburger
If you’re totally petrified at this point, don’t worry: you aren’t alone.
Can you believe wolf spiders are so hardcore? You really do learn something new every day.
Don’t forget to share this post with your friends, and let us know what you would do if a wolf spider climbed up your eyebrows in the comments!
