The name ``FunnelWeb'' was chosen because it contains the name ``WEB'', which is the name of Knuth's system. It was also chosen because it has a distinctly Australian flavour.
Funnel-web spiders
are found in Northern and Eastern Australia. They are
about three to four centimetres long and are very poisonous. The
Sydney
Funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus),
common in Sydney,
has caused the most trouble and has been responsible for several deaths.
Funnel-web spiders love to crawl into temporarily discarded shoes where they
later react in a hostile manner to an unsuspecting foot. They are known
to hang on once they sink their fangs in. Funnel-web spiders derive
their name from the shape of their webs which are horizontally-aligned
narrowing tubes, open at one end[ANZE]
[1].
The Funnel-web spider, like the tiger snake and the white pointer shark, is secretly regarded by Australians as a kind of national treasure.
F is for Funnel-web
Our furry-legged foe.
He sleeps in your slipper
And breakfasts on toe.
— One verse from A Megastar's Mantras: Things that Mean a Lot to Me,
by Dame Edna Everage[Humphries91]
[1].