Swallowing a Spider

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I know an old lady Who swallowed a bird ... She swallowed the bird To catch the spider ... She swallowed the spider To catch the fly But I don't know why She swallowed a fly I guess she'll die —A Nursery Rhyme

Lensman Arms Race is an escalation of countermeasures or "bigger sticks" between two or more conflicting parties, which can be frustrating enough. But some people manage to inflict this on themselves by "solving" problems in a way that creates some greater problem instead... and if they still can, do it repeatedly.

Summon Bigger Fish is particularly prone to this.

Digging Yourself Deeper and Revealing Coverup are subtropes of this.

Examples of Swallowing a Spider include:

Film

• Kiryu from the films Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Tokyo SOS is an attempt by the JSDF to create a weapon out of the skeletal remains of the 1954 Godzilla. They succeed, but, unfortunately, Kiryu tends to act like his flesh-and-blood counterpart.
  • Likewise, in the 1991 film Godzilla VS King Ghidorah, people in Japan attempt to "re-create" Godzilla so that they can stop King Ghidorah (Long story short, Time Travel has prevented a Godzillasaurus from becoming...well, Godzilla.. and...let's just say it gets confusing....). Not only do they succeed in mutating a Godzillasaurus into Godzilla (Don't ask how they even know what Godzilla is considering he was "erased from history" in the film), but they also end up making him bigger AND more powerful than before. And....then Godzilla proceeds to rampage across Japan yet again...

James Rolfe: The good news is, Godzilla's back; and the bad news is, Godzilla's back.

• Syndrome's Omnidroid in The Incredibles was the most recent iteration of his "super-killing" robot. It was intelligent and competent enough to realize that it didn't want to be commanded or shut off -- and powerful enough to be able to insist on it.

Literature

• Guard-bird by Robert Sheckley. So we got learning robots to help law enforcement. Their learning evolved out of control and now they rampage through the countryside? Let's create an improved, more powerful version to hunt them - this can only end well!

Western Animation

• The Simpsons did this 4 times in a row. At least they had an exit strategy, if not well thought out one.

Lizards ate all the pigeons* Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend. Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards? Skinner: No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards. Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse? Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat. Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas! Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

Web Comics

• Questionable Content even referred to that rhyme regarding Hannelore's recursive distractions from compulsive behaviour. Though her version at least doesn't create problems she didn't have already.

Web Original

• Fake Science offers a dubious poster on "shop safety":

Alan protects his hands from the saw. He puts them in acid-filled beakers that instantly dissolve metal.

Real Life

• Somebody imported and released European rabbits in Australia. They reproduced, well, like rabbits - and without adequate competitors and predators they became a problem. Then someone stumbled upon a solution: let's fix this by releasing some European foxes. Three guesses as to what happened next.