Morgan Bellof bugs and space-bots.
March 31st 2006 06:57
I had a small incident with a rather large cockroach some nights ago that involved much stomping and screaming. Copious amounts of insecticide were discharged before my reinforcements arrived with newspaper rolls in hand.
It's like a "how many..." joke, only tragic. With the amount of effort it takes to kill the little buggers, it is not surprising that cockroaches have their reputation for resilience. No matter how adaptable and hardy they are however, the common myth that cockroaches would survive a nuclear war is merely an exaggeration.
Believe it or not, cockroaches have been found to demonstrate social traits by an experiment in which the insects consistently split themselves evenly into the largest groups possible. Funnily enough, a pregnant wasp is all it takes to turn an otherwise gregarious cockroach into a subordinate zombie.
The social behaviour of cockroaches may eventually be used against them, should robot cockroaches ever be used as a pest control device. For now, robots are being used for bigger and better things.
How big? Think space travel.
It's like a "how many..." joke, only tragic. With the amount of effort it takes to kill the little buggers, it is not surprising that cockroaches have their reputation for resilience. No matter how adaptable and hardy they are however, the common myth that cockroaches would survive a nuclear war is merely an exaggeration.
Believe it or not, cockroaches have been found to demonstrate social traits by an experiment in which the insects consistently split themselves evenly into the largest groups possible. Funnily enough, a pregnant wasp is all it takes to turn an otherwise gregarious cockroach into a subordinate zombie.
The social behaviour of cockroaches may eventually be used against them, should robot cockroaches ever be used as a pest control device. For now, robots are being used for bigger and better things.
How big? Think space travel.
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