Spiders could eat every human on Earth in one year

And there's a petition to make it happen

A recent analysis published in The Washington Post has suggested that spiders could eat every human on Earth if they wanted to.

While most people freaked out, musician John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats started a petition to help make that happen.

The Washington Post article bases its analysis on a recent study on the spider population's eating habits. Researchers Martin Nyffeler and Klaus Birkhofer found that spiders consume, in total, 400 and 800-million tonnes annually.



So, if they wanted, spiders could end the human population in a year. Freaked out yet?

Many people got used to the idea of being eaten by spiders...

This is why I keep a newspaper handy at all times. #spiders #scaryspiders https://t.co/2Dfs2tiv6s

— Josh Millsapps (@Jmillsapps) March 29, 2017

https://twitter.com/dun3buggi3/status/847024617827000321

John Darnielle also started a petition calling Senator Al Franken to give spiders all the help they need.

I started a petition to help the spiders eat every human on earth https://t.co/X0rAc35m8T via @Change

— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) March 28, 2017

His petition states, "We call on the United States government to utilise whatever resources it deems necessary and effective to help the spiders in their noble cause. We're sending our petition to Sen. Al Franken because he's one of the few people in Washington who we sort of half-trust to not initiate surveillance on us or flag our tax returns for signing such a petition."

Many supported his idea:

pic.twitter.com/TjNUwnUPU0

— Glenda the Good B❄️tch (@anniela) March 29, 2017

I signed. I want my children to grow up in a world free from the pestilence of humanity.

— Biscuits (@drunkandcoding) March 28, 2017

https://twitter.com/shanedkavanaugh/status/846803296853508096

And this person had the best idea:

https://twitter.com/Tony_Pumilia/status/846734802078367744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2017%2F03%2F28%2Fspiders-eat-humans-petition%2F

The petition currently has over 650 supporters. Those with arachnophobia, beware!

This story originally appeared on Mashable