Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: portal!cup.portal.com!mmm@apple.com
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Spider Silk
Message-ID: <11531@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 18 Nov 89 06:37:11 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Lines: 13
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: portal!cup.portal.com!mmm@apple.com
I also have heard that black widow spider silk is commonly used for
rifle scope crosshairs.  I once knew a person working on an invention
for a new type of scope, and he told me that a cross hair is made by
picking up a spider, touching the tip of its abdomen to the rim which
supports the crosshairs, stretching it over to the opposite side and touching
the rim over there, then repeating the process for the other crosshair.

Spider silk is both strong and thin.  It also comes in its own applicator.
I don't know what specific feature of black widows makes them desirable for
the job;  maybe its time to cross-post to sci.bio.