it is so very true. the other day I was visiting a pet shop and I was interested in tarantulas so I asked the guy whether they do have tarantulas in store. he proceeded to show me a baby salmon pink giant bird eating tarantula, about the size of my thumb nail. and then - wait for it - he showed me his own tarantula, labelled a curly. now this spider is male, and the males are in general smaller than the female and they also do not live as long as the female, and he is 3years old. his complete body, that is the carapace and abdomen, would fit snuggly on the palm of my hand and my hand is 95mm across. his legs were tightly against his body and if stretched out would certainly reach a span of 20cm. scary? very but also so fascinating and very beautiful in a primeval way.
