On joining the RAF in 1970, everyone heard stories of an engineer accidentally taking off sat on a wicker chair/ Orange box, but it's well documented that Wing Commander Holden was sat in an ejector seat, with the pins in.
A bit like the stories of Camel spiders injecting anaesthetic into people when asleep & chewing their lips off.
I used to be the unofficial 'Spider & snake' catcher when in the Middle East, often retrieving them from peoples offices. Stories grow on people & I've seen grown men backed into a corner, looking bloody terrified.
Camel spiders have no glands to produce any anaesthetic, they just don't do it, but stories gets so ingrained into peoples thinking, they just react with horror.
Stephanie xx