A teenager was bitten by a rogue hamster while watching the new Spider-Man movie at a theater in Mobile, Alabama, according to his family.
The bizarre incident occurred on December 27 during a 6 p.m. showing of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," that the teen was attending with some friends, local media outlet WKRG reported.
At one point during the showing, the friends saw what looked like a rat running along the aisle by their feet, the teen's mother Dana Whitton told WKRG.
The group put their feet up as the small creature ran past. As soon as they put their feet down, Whitton's son reached into his bucket of popcorn and was surprised to find a hamster inside.
One of the group then captured a short video of the teen trying to trap the hamster using the bucket.
After trapping the rodent, the teen picked the creature up and took it to a theater employee. But while the pair discussed the situation, the hamster bit the teen and he dropped it.
According to the family, the employee then picked up a broom and dustpan and swept the hamster up into it. It is not clear what happened to the hamster afterwards.
Whitton said her son was given a refund for his ticket by the theater manager, as well as free popcorn.
The owners of the hamster have not been identified. But Mobile resident Shay Brunson told WKRG that she attended the same theater on December 23 and saw four teenagers looking for their hamster.
The teens had taken the animal to the theater but had apparently lost it before their movie began. The group reportedly left their contact details with theater employees in case anyone found the hamster.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home," which was released in the U.S. on December 17, is a superhero film based on the eponymous character from the Marvel comics. It is the sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019.)
Starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, the film follows the character after his real identity has been revealed.
The movie has received positive reviews from critics and has so far grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, making it the highest earning film of 2021.
Given that the origin story of the Spider-Man character involves Peter Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider, some social media users were quick to pick up on the similarities with the hamster incident.
"Watch out for the new Hampster Man, able to stuff large quantities in their cheeks, burrow underground, (or under blankets) and sleep inordinate amounts of time," one Facebook user, Danielle Andaya, said.
Another user, Anthony Munn, said: "Hopefully it wasn't a radioactive hamster."
"Good thing it wasn't a spider," another user, Holley Pyron, said.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more
