Why are cockroaches so hard to kill? - Ameya Gondhalekar

Dig into the genetic adaptations of cockroaches, and find out what makes it so hard to get rid of these tenacious creatures.

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In ancient Egypt, there was a spell that declared, “Be far from me, O vile cockroach.” Thousands of years later, we’re still trying to oust these insects. But from poison traps to brandished slippers, cockroaches seem to weather just about everything we throw at them. So, what makes cockroaches so hard to kill? Ameya Gondhalekar digs into the genetic wonders of this troublingly tenacious creature.

Lesson by Ameya Gondhalekar, directed by Irida Zhonga.

In order to visualize and dramatize the lives of these fascinating creatures, the artists have chosen to playfully anthropomorphize cockroaches. In real life cockroaches don’t dine like humans, go shopping for organic matter, and most unfortunately, don’t wear lederhosen (at least, to the best of our knowledge).

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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, AJ Lyon, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay, Carlo Solaroli, Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung, Brian Elieson, Grayson Garbarino, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Stefano Esposito, Nevin Spoljaric, Yvonne Feijoo, Sid Chanpuriya, Arjay Arcinue Dineros, Anoom Yasmin and Anoop Varghese.

[umang]

One of the darkest moments of my childhood was when I realized cockroaches can actually fly.

[yamoonallemoon]

I can't emphasize enough on how grateful I am that you used animated cockroaches instead of pictures of real ones for your demonstration video.
Respect...

[annelieseharrison]

Cocroaches can play dead, too. Once, I saw a cocroach on its back, thinking it was dead. It looked dead and everything, so I went to get something to clean it up when I returned the cochroach wasn't there anymore. I was like, what in the world. Anyway, those things freak me out. It's the legs that get to me.

[simeon]

The horror of scrunching one underfoot and coming back in a few minutes to find the cockroach has disappeared.

[runawaykiwibird]

I actually am more afraid of cockroaches than house spiders. Spiders seem very chill and would stay still in their place in the house, whereas the cockroach had a chance of flying inside the house. I also got rashes because of cockroaches so that adds to my level of disgust for them.

[angrygoose]

“Cockroaches would probably not survive a nuclear explosion.”

*PROBLEM SOLVED*

[terabaap]

I really really hate cockroaches. I once saw a brawl happening between a huge cockroach and a lizard, and I was literally cheering for the lizard to win. The lizard actually won in the end, sat down and devoured its meal. That's the only time I've seen a cockroach in my house, but I was scared out of my wits.

[nitronix]

When I was younger, I thought of a neat trick where when getting ready for school in the mornings, whenever I'd brush my teeth, I'd keep the lights off in the bathroom and use my phone flashlight to dimly illuminate the room. It worked for so long until one day, a roach landed directly on the back of my neck. In the dark. So being the curious lil bugger I was I grabbed the roach with a pinching gesture, felt something move, and then turned on the light and was face to face with a roach in my hand.

Always check the roof y'all. You won't be the same since.

[lolmemes]

When I was a kid, I had an obsession with butterflies and moths. One evening, I was sitting outside my house as it was getting dark and I heard something fly by me. Thinking it was a moth, I eagerly extended out my arm in hopes that the really big moth would land on my hand. I got my wish; something did land on my hand. But it was not a moth. It was a really big roach that could fly.

I never screamed so loud.

[datcatcatcat]

TED Ed has a way of making things charming. If cockroaches wore tiny clothes, I'd be more inclined to let them just hang out

[snapclub]

Another fact about the cockroach is that it can survive without its head for about a week.

[Faith_LS-ZERO]

i am SO GLAD that there are actually many people like me that had bad experiences or straight up phobia from these critters

[ina]

honestly hats off to the scientists that took the time to study cockroaches 😭😭😭 truly braver than the marines

[dannikkolisoria]

As someone who has a trauma related to this insect, resulted to phobia, I hugely thank TED Ed for using this animation. I hesitated to watch it but is also curious about any information. I’m glad this approach helps educating people who have extreme fear of roaches ( I swear, even a photo triggers me)

[Mr_Jester]

I once remember during my kindergarten year when my classroom has a roach problem. Apparently, they managed to find their way to our class despite constant checkup to ensure that there's no bug around. Story short, about half of our school went out to our assembly point before the exterminator came in.

[nicolemonrue]

When I was 7, I spent the night over my aunt's apt. She lived in the projects and they had a horrible roach problem. I fell asleep on her couch by accident, and when I woke up, I could hear something kinda scratching in my right ear. After a day or so, it got kinda sore. My mother took me to the hospital, and it turns out there was a roach in my ear.

[edgaraguilar]

Fun Fact: you can just burn the place down instead

[MrUsidd]

Finally! Someone understands our pain.

[katherinee.]

I love the voice of the narrator, it’s so calming and satisfying, love the intro music too with the quote every time

[clover-]

I'm surprised after reading the horrible experiences....I'm so thankful that none of them happened to me....
I'm so scared of these creatures but now I'm trying to overcome it...