Man Takes Facebook Memes Too Literally, Sets Car Ablaze to Kill a Spider

Okay, so we’ve all seen these memes on Facebook, and we all have a great laugh because we all know someone who’s scared to death of spiders. Fortunately, most normal people wouldn’t actually set their house on fire in an attempt to kill a spider. A car, on the other hand, is a different story altogether… at least to the Michigan man in the video below.

This nominee for the Darwin award went to his local gas station to refill what looks to be his mid-1990s Chrysler sedan. It was a normal refill for Mr. Lighty McLighterstein until he noticed an unauthorized, eight-legged stowaway in his fuel-filler door.

Most normal human beings would simply cringe and watch the spider like a hawk while they pull the fuel nozzle from their car after filling up. Some more brave people may grab a tissue and squish the arachnid. Apparently, this dude had a plan to make an impression upon this spidey’s little buddies, as he whipped out his trusty lighter in an attempt to send the bug to a fiery grave.

Well, it worked, as the spider and the fuel all went boom at the same time. Luckily, the man regrew a brainstem and quickly pulled his car away from the inferno, then grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to put out the blaze. This quick reaction to his boneheaded move combined with the attentive gas-station attendant who turned off the fuel, helped keep the damages to a minimum. Even better, there were no injuries (except to this dude’s ego), which is why I feel just fine calling him the nitwit of the year.

Enjoy the video, and please remember that fire + gasoline = bigger fire. Next time, grab a tissue and just squish the damn thing.