Arachnids submitted as suspected brown recluse spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae): Loxosceles spiders are virtually restricted to their known distributions but are perceived to exist throughout the United States.
An Internet offer was made to identify any spider in the United States perceived to be a brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik (Sicariidae). In total, 1,773 arachnids from 49 states represented three orders (Araneae, Solifugae, and Opiliones) and the identifiable spiders (Araneae) consisted of 38 families, 88 genera, and 158 recognizable species. Participants from states at least half within the known brown recluse distribution submitted Loxosceles spiders 32- 89% of the time, except Louisiana and Mississippi with no submissions. From 25 of 29 states completely or almost completely outside of the range of Loxosceles spiders, no recluse spiders werecauses was, and remains, a unifying idea behind skepticism and the work of most practising scientists. With the emergence of New Atheism and its emphasis on critical thinking, a groundswell of effort to combat modern (and sometimes very non-modern) pseudoscience has developed. The popularisation of debunking pseudoscience may have begun with Harry Houdini, who spent his later days taking on spiritualists and mediums. In the latter half of the 20th century, people like James Randi, Carl Sagan, and Richard Dawkins published books and made television appearances tackling these subjects. Relative newcomers Ben Goldacre, who wrote the best-seller Bad Science, and Simon Singh, who is currently winning a libel case after calling out chiropractors on their unsupportable claims, have furthered the trend. Meanwhile, skeptical groups and knowledge bases continue