Have you ever watched as a cockroach scampered across your kitchen floor? Have you ever caught glimpse of these creatures only to realize how amazing they truly are? Have you ever marveled at the persistence and the acrobatic abilities of these cute little guys? Do you envy Joe? If you answered �yes� to any of these questions, you need help! But if you have only a mild, healthy interest in these bugs, then the following may be of interest to you. Take notes; there will be a test on this later.
*All American roaches, like Americans, were immigrants.
*Roaches have exoskeletons, meaning they wear their skeletons on the outside of their body.
*The blood of a roach is white.
*Their mouths work sideways.
*A male roach can squeeze into an opening as thin as a quarter; a pregnant female needs the space of 2 stacked nickels.
*A roach at rest points its antennae forward and 60 degrees from one another.
*Mashed roaches make an excellent poultice if you�re ever stung by a ray.
*American roaches fly.
*Tropical roaches are yellow, green and red.
*The largest roach in the world is 6 inches long with a one-foot wingspan.
*There are more than 4, 000 species of roaches.
*American roaches can run 3 mph.
*Cockroach tea is used to treat dropsy, a kind of sickness or inflammation.
*Suffer from indigestion? Skip the Rolaids and instead, fry up some roaches in oil and garlic.
*Roaches have been around for more than 360 million years, changing little in the way of appearance. There has been no change in appearance for 320 million years.
*Roaches are the only creatures that can survive nuclear war. Kinda makes you wonder what the hell they put in Raid.
*Roaches have no blood vessels. They�re blood moves freely within their bodies.
*Male roaches are very romantic. For example, a male will give a female a gift wrapped package called a spermatophore: sperm wrapped in a protein rich wrapping that she can eat to obtain nutrients while raising her young. And they say chivalry is dead.
*A decapitated roach can live for 9 days, finally dying from dehydration. They can live for a month without food.
*Roaches spend 75% of their time resting.
*Next time you suffer from a urinary tract infection, just use some powdered roaches.
*Immediately following a shedding, a roach is white. The normal color returns within 8 hours. What are they shedding? Their skeletons.
*Next time you see a roach in the bathtub, don�t bother attempting to drown it. They can hold their breath for 40 minutes. However, they have a terrible time coming up for air because they breathe through their sides.
*Roaches have faster reflexes than humans. They also have a large nerve that extends from head to tail, allowing them to sense danger that they are unable to see.
*Some female roaches mate once and are pregnant for the rest of their life.
*Not all winged species fly.
Roaches have a foul odor.
*Some species can produce sound.
*American roach babies are on their own once the eggs have been laid.
*Roaches do not spread diseases as believed. They can, however, spread human diseases.
I bet you never thought you�d learn so much from me that you could become a qualified entomologist.