Student in Bristol, Britain finds scorpion crawling inside Shein parcel

October 17, 2024 7:57 AM

Student in Bristol, Britain finds scorpion crawling inside Shein parcel. Sofia Alonso-Mossinger found the creature in a bag of boots which she had ordered online.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (51 comments total)

I was living in Kelowna BC and I mailed I mailed a plush toy platypus to my little sister in Ohio. My mother said a baby rattle snake was in the box and it slithered out and went in a crevice under the house. She said it was rattling its little tail like crazy at her.
posted by waving at 8:02 AM on October 17 [8 favorites]

Given the amount of Shein parcels my eldest niece orders and the condition of her bedroom, I wonder if she'd even notice if this happened!
posted by Kitteh at 8:14 AM on October 17 [2 favorites]

it's called fashion, sweatie
posted by phunniemee at 8:15 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

I absolutely love that their first reaction (after surprise) was to get the scorpion someplace safe and give it some water after its difficult trip!
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:16 AM on October 17 [19 favorites]

China-based Shein said it had conducted an internal investigation and had confirmed that "all standard operating processes have been adhered to".

The author got that money quote.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:31 AM on October 17 [5 favorites]

Leaving all else aside, I am impressed that the recipients immediately figured out how to treat a roving scorpion and got it rehydrated, etc. That was nice of them.
posted by Frowner at 8:33 AM on October 17 [7 favorites]

China-based Shein said it had conducted an internal investigation and had confirmed that "all standard operating processes have been adhered to".

Which just suggests that their "standard operating processes" don't have very high standards.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:35 AM on October 17 [3 favorites]

...well, I mean, it IS Shein we're talking about -- they're just lucky the clothing itself wasn't actively toxic.
posted by aramaic at 8:38 AM on October 17 [8 favorites]

Or that every so often they give out a free scorpion with purchase.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:38 AM on October 17 [15 favorites]

It's called fast fashion for a reason. And that reason is how fast you'll be running away once you open the parcel.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:42 AM on October 17 [14 favorites]

a classic internet sting operation
posted by el_presidente at 8:46 AM on October 17 [32 favorites]

He said its sting would be "medically significant... potentially life threatening but an average adult would just have a really bad day".

Put me in the nuke it from orbit camp.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:56 AM on October 17

So this is the (mildly edited) part that made my eyebrows shoot up the MOST..


" Phoebe said they had tried the RSPCA but realised it was more set up to collect cats and dogs, before getting in touch with the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW).

The charity was able to send someone over within a couple of hours.

NCRW's Chris Newman said reports of such stowaways were surprisingly frequent.

"The scorpion is Olivierus martensii, it doesn’t really have a common name other than Chinese scorpion," he said.

He said its sting would be "medically significant... potentially life threatening but an average adult would just have a really bad day".

"It is quite worrying this is the second one we have had in under a month that has come in this way."
"


So this creature has a *medically significant venomous sting* and yet gets shipped "surprisingly frequently" by accident.

HELLS NO.

And just think, those are the ones that
a: are noticed
b: get reported
c: are alive!

There is NO WAY to know how many instances fit one or more (but not all three criteria?) !?
posted by Faintdreams at 8:58 AM on October 17 [4 favorites]

Wait - you can buy boots buy the bagful now?
posted by InfidelZombie at 9:00 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Wait - you can buy boots buy the bagful now?

Only if you're willing to accept the free scorpion.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:06 AM on October 17 [28 favorites]

everyone knows you're supposed to check your boots for scorpions
posted by ryanrs at 9:11 AM on October 17 [14 favorites]

Only if you're willing to accept the free scorpion.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:06 PM on October 17 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [⚑]

lol . . . hey, wait a minute!
posted by mollweide at 9:16 AM on October 17 [17 favorites]

When I was a kid in NC in the 1970s, my mother brought home a bunch of bananas that had a live tarantula in it. I’m sure you can picture the ensuing scenes.
posted by caviar2d2 at 9:33 AM on October 17 [3 favorites]

Wait - you can buy boots buy the bagful now?

I know! Talk about burying the lede.
posted by slogger at 9:37 AM on October 17 [3 favorites]

"It is quite worrying this is the second one we have had in under a month that has come in this way."
[…] a *medically significant venomous sting*

Look, how many people in the sending country are getting stung if this many live scorpions are hiding in the boots and surviving shipment?

(Tbf all the desert workers I know have taught me to shake out boots and bedding very thoroughly every time I’m going to reënter. We assumed they liked worn boots because of the humidity though.

Also, the Vancouver BC bug museum used to have a pettable scorpion.)
posted by clew at 9:40 AM on October 17 [3 favorites]

a roving scorpion

medically significant

Usernames up for grabs
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:42 AM on October 17 [7 favorites]

did she order it on feb 24 2020?
posted by lalochezia at 9:46 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Sent to my coworker I have so far been unable to talk out of continued purchasing from this monster. :/
posted by Glinn at 9:49 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

When I was a kid in NC in the 1970s, my mother brought home a bunch of bananas that had a live tarantula in it. I’m sure you can picture the ensuing scenes.
posted by caviar2d2 at 9:33 AM

Yeah, I’ve seen Beetlejuice
posted by gc at 9:49 AM on October 17 [2 favorites]

Wait - you can buy boots buy the bagful now?

I thought you could only get that in Canada.
posted by ursus_comiter at 9:55 AM on October 17 [5 favorites]

I looked up the geographical range of these particular scorpions, and they’re pretty common around Beijing and the surrounding area.
posted by ursus_comiter at 9:57 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

I have a friend who keeps buying from them because it's what she can afford, even though I've explained that part of how they keep prices low is by stealing designs from actual artists (I know of at least a couple who have sued), along with other bad corporate behavior.

I also know a couple of people who are allergic to scorpions—they found out because they both got stung—and it'll definitely put you in the hospital. Better not to find out.

tl;dr: Don't buy from SHEIN.
posted by limeonaire at 10:26 AM on October 17 [3 favorites]

40 Businesses Shein Stole Designs From
posted by limeonaire at 10:33 AM on October 17 [2 favorites]

SHEIN and fast fashion in general is terrible.

The idea of regularly buying clothing is just so strange to me. I mean, there are times when you do have to buy new clothes - I replace my work pants regularly. Children grow, people change size, things wear out, you get a new job. And for some people the only affordable options are "fast fashion," which traps them in a cycle of having to buy clothes more frequently because they're worse quality.

But I am kind of shocked by how much expectations have shifted around how big our wardrobes should be, how often we should replace clothes, and so on. I don't know that a lot of people are saving money by shopping SHEIN, as opposed to spending the same amount of money but on a larger wardrobe with more waste and turnover. The idea of regularly shopping for clothing, not just to replace things that you need to replace, but because it's something you just have to do to keep up... aaaaaaaah
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:39 AM on October 17 [5 favorites]

PLEASE tell everyone you know not to buy from Shein. They use literal slave labor. They steal designs. They are huge environmental polluters. It goes on and on.
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:43 AM on October 17 [7 favorites]

But, but… where will I get my scorpions?
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:47 AM on October 17 [10 favorites]

The Scorpion King
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:50 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

So that's where the live scorpion I ordered from Shein ended up.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:55 AM on October 17 [12 favorites]

when I was a kid one christmas we drove down to key largo with friends, but my teenage brother chose to stay home. We took a coconut that had fallen off a tree in the backyard back for him as a gift. Luckily for him the heater in the van we were traveling in died mid-trip, so the temperature inside the van dropped low enough to kill the scorpion that he found inside the coconut husk when he tried to open it. I think that scorpion is still in a jar of formaldehyde in the biology lab of the high school we went to.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:59 AM on October 17 [2 favorites]

The idea of regularly buying clothing is just so strange to me

So I love clothes (dresses in particular) and I also looking for things and putting outfits together, especially when I can do so for cheap (or free, by rooting around in the closet). And yet, the fast fashion thing doesn't entirely work for me, in part because there are thrift stores and resellers and your neighbor on BuyNothing who is having an identity crisis and giving away all of her evening gowns. It has never been easier to find interesting, good quality, and fashionable clothing from resellers, both IRL, online and literally all over the world. And oftentimes the only difference between scrolling through 50 pages of Shein vs. 1000 pages of ThredUp or Poshmark or DePop is that the used stuff is generally better quality (hey, it's survived this long).

Anyway, regularly buying clothes is no different than regularly buying books or records (and I like buying an awful lot of the latter as well) or, like, sports gear or video games. Fashion is a hobby just like any other. And just like any other there are ways to enjoy it more or less responsibly/ethically.
posted by thivaia at 11:03 AM on October 17 [4 favorites]

The idea of regularly shopping for clothing, not just to replace things that you need to replace, but because it's something you just have to do to keep up... aaaaaaaah

hey, are you OK? did you get a scorpion?
posted by chavenet at 11:10 AM on October 17 [8 favorites]

What with this and the frogs in bagged salad, the universe is clearly trying to ship a fable together.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:15 AM on October 17 [4 favorites]

hey, are you OK? did you get a scorpion?

the problem is that i DIDN'T get a scorpion
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:21 AM on October 17 [11 favorites]

thivaia, that is fair - as is the point about how you can engage more ethically in the hobby. I don't really have an issue with the idea of fashion as a hobby, in principle. It's not for me but if I could reliably walk into a thrift store and find cool items that fit my body and my style then I'd probably do it more.

I guess it's kind of like makeup: It can be a hobby, a means of self-expression ... but capitalism is also very interested in expanding our expectations of how much makeup one "should" wear, how much skincare one "should" perform, how many cosmetic procedures one "should" have... Which is to say, there's a difference between standing in front of the mirror until you can execute a perfect cat-eye because you enjoy it as part of your look, and standing in front of the mirror feeling bad about your lips because thick, filled lips are fashionable and yours are "too thin."
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:33 AM on October 17 [6 favorites]

but capitalism is also very interested in expanding our expectations of how much makeup one "should" wear, how much

Such as it is for literally every consumer good, from phones to food to pharmaceutical drugs.
posted by phunniemee at 11:51 AM on October 17 [2 favorites]

Old Army lesson, “Always shake out your boots in the morning!” They’re nice and warm and critters love them.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:12 PM on October 17 [2 favorites]

Old cowboy lesson, too.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:16 PM on October 17

I would name the scorpion Matthias Jabs just because I like saying
Matthias Jabs
posted by clavdivs at 1:18 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Several people in my circles are addicted, to varying degrees, to shopping from Temu. They keep telling me how cheap stuff is; I keep asking them if they actually need any of it. No reports of anyone getting a scorpion as a bonus gift. Apart from the woman in Sweden who put on a shirt and felt something wrigging on her back...

Temu are currently most well-known, not for scorpions or selling mountains of cheap crap, but for their [CW: swine erotica] sus domesticus t-shirt.
posted by Wordshore at 1:27 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]

I ordered something from China once - it was before the rise of Shein and yet after Amazon had started shipping bizarrely named fast fashion that didn't actually quite exist in the form it was pictured - and the package arrived crawling with red ants. My whole mailbox was alive with them. I was kind of worried that I had imported an invasive Chinese species and all of coastal Oregon would soon be covered in red ants but some years later we appear to just be covered, as always, with the ordinary little black sugar ants.

the jacket I received was not proportioned for humans at all, really, I guess it was designed by ants.
posted by mygothlaundry at 1:56 PM on October 17 [2 favorites]

"It is quite worrying this is the second one we have had in under a month that has come in this way."


If I had a nickel for every time a scorpion turned up in a Shein package, etc, etc.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:32 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Given the state of what I've actually been able to see online of *some* Chinese factories, and given what I know about the garment industry as it was in the US as of the mid 90s:

I could see tons of premade boxes sitting around for a bit too long and scorpions taking refuge in them, clothes being dropped in them and the box being sealed up and shipped without anyone noticing.

But I can also see disgruntled slave labor or quasi-slave labor or whatever intentionally putting scorpions in boxes out of sheer spite, which is definitely something that happens in any nation when you abuse the labor pool.

Or both. At some level people in the labor pool actively stop giving a shit about anything and may be inspired to small acts of rebellion like this, but scorpions are a new one on me.
posted by loquacious at 4:15 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Did the scorpion rock her like a hurricane?

(Well, someone had to say it)
posted by gtrwolf at 4:18 PM on October 17

What with this and the frogs in bagged salad, the universe is clearly trying to ship a fable together.

My friend's restaurant/bar was doing a local and mostly farm-to-table menu a few years ago... and by farm-to-table that included our own, uh, unlicensed garden. Which was very much organic and wholesome and perfectly safe and edible.

But we had a non-zero number of incidents of both small frogs and slugs making it all the way to a diner's plate despite all of the washing and everything.

Sometimes we were harvesting kale and veggies on the way in to work to open up the restaurant and even after soaking and washing veggies with lots of nooks and crannies like kale or cabbage sometimes the odd slug came through.

And thankfully everyone that did get a free slug or frog was mostly just amused about it because I live in a town full of old hippies, so it was more like "welp, that's just proof that your menu really IS farm to table" and we'd make them a new salad or whatever, and everyone went on about their day.

I may or may not have eaten some of those salads or entrees myself instead of dumping them in the trash. That was damn good produce and I can always use more veggies.
posted by loquacious at 4:24 PM on October 17 [7 favorites]

Also, the Vancouver BC bug museum used to have a pettable scorpion.

Technically, all scorpions are pettable if you're feeling brave enough.
posted by Dysk at 4:35 PM on October 17 [7 favorites]

I may or may not have eaten some of those salads or entrees myself instead of dumping them in the trash. That was damn good produce and I can always use more veggies.

Ahh, just watch out for those slugs...
posted by limeonaire at 4:41 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]