Why is it when you find a dead cockroach they are always on their backs?
(Ok so this ones in a smear on the wall cause I smushed him)
Ok so you’re all glad to see I haven’t let any of you down, and that I’m still not a very pensive person…well I guess it depends on your definition of pensive, because I think this is a very important question that requires some thought.
But seriously, hear me out people. During the rainy season the cockroaches have headed into our house (which at times resembles the outside of the house due to a few lil holes in the roof and muddy floors) to escape the water. Now I will say my attitude towards cockroaches has changed DRASTICALY since moving into my first first-floor apartment (aka easy access for cockroaches) when I literally screamed and chucked a chaco at a cockroach that was flying in my living room (yeah who knew they could fly?). Now when I see a cockroach, especially if it’s a big one, I take a second to admire its size or the clicking noise they make when they walk on wooden doors before squishing it flat with whatever is at hand—a chaco, a rainbow, a Spanish dictionary. And they are everywhere, luckily they tend to stay in the hallways…or at least that’s where I see them the most so I’m going to pretend like they aren’t in my room… so I have a clear shot at squishing them.
But for some unknown reason a lot of them are dying—on their own. And it’s not like they’re the grandpa cockroaches that have lived out their long life snacking on dead bugs and or the candy that people have sent me and have then died of natural causes. I’ve seen a BIG ol cockroach, he was probably a granddaddy, the ones we’re seeing that are dead are tiny. Like cricket sized. And the sight of all these dead little cockroaches was enough for my host dad to ask if I’ve bought poison and that’s why they’re dying. No, I haven’t been poisoning them…but it’s a good idea…
But back to the dead ones, they are ALWAYS, without exception, on their backs. I asked my host dad why that is and I got the standard Peruvian “I don’t know gesture” (that would be to turn your head to one side, make a frownie face, and throw your hands up by your shoulders and raise your shoulders all at the same time while saying “ehh”). With my dad, who usually knows the answers to such random gringa questions a gasp, it lead me to do some thinking on my own.
Why are dead cockroaches always on their back?? Ok so I thought of the obvious connection between that and the 1920s mobster’s saying “he’s belly up” when talking about a dead guy (hey that’s pretty good considering I don’t have Google to help me think up these things in site) but still sans an explanation of WHY they do it. I will admit to turning off the light in the hallway and waiting on one to come out and croak (which is another thing I’ve thought of. Why is dying a frog noise as well?? But that’s another blog) and die on their backs. Sadly I didn’t see the death of a single cockroach, I did however kill a tarantula, and they roll up into a ball when they die— no matter how hard you hit them with your shoe!
So some hypothesis I’ve come up with (in a very unscientific manner):
1. They do a back flip in the moment of their death as a result of their muscles spazzing, and like how bread always lands butter side down, cockroaches always land leg side up.
2. They are super dramatic about their deaths (think cartoon deaths) and do the “oooh” “uuuuh” “arrrrrrgh” with accompanying hand gestures and grabbing at their chests (do they have chests?) and then do the standard twirl and flip landing with their legs up in the air and let out a “sigh” as their eyes roll into the back of their flat heads.
3. The ants are faster than me (they love to eat a dead cockroach) and always arrive before me to the scene of the death and flip the cockroach onto its back to prepare it to be carried away for consumption. Now the only flaw to this is that usually I see the dead cockroach without his ant predators.
4. It’s a trick my host dad’s playing on me with every single cockroach in the house just to see how observant the gringa is. (Ok so this is the most highly unlikely option between all of these. Not only because my dad is a neat freak and hates cockroaches, but because he can’t hardly see so find them all)
Yeah, I’ve been using my down time to its fullest extent in contemplating these occurrences. Now I know what some of you are thinking: Yes I could be using my down time to write a book (haha ok yeah we all know better), or solve some unsolvable math problem (yeah my math people know better-I like ‘em when they have an answer I can prove…and not in proof form), or perfect my Spanish (I’m gonna need more than 2 years to do that) rather than pondering the deaths of cockroaches, however comical the real answer could be. But hey, I’m a 23 year old with a 10 year olds amusement level. I still find bodily functions comical after all. Even more so since joining the Peace Corps—a Parasite is way more amusing than a fart, especially when they are put together!
No comments:
Post a Comment