Curious About Cockroaches

PODCAST 117: CURIOUS ABOUT COCKROACHES
RELEASE DATE:  DECEMBER 27TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE’VE GOT A FUN EPISODE FOR YOU THIS WEEK.  FIRST, WE ARE GOING TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT A CREEPY CRAWLY FOR A LISTENER IN AUSTRALIA, AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO ANSWER A QUESTION FOR A LISTENER IN HOUSTON, TEXAS.  

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HI GUYS!  WE WANT TO REQUEST A PODCAST.  OSCAR IS FOUR AND LIVES IN CENTENNIAL PARK, IN THE MIDDLE OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.  HE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR A PODCAST ON BUSH FIRES OR ON COCKROACHES.  WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST!  

THANK YOU!
MOLLY AND OSCAR”

O:  THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE E-MAIL AND FOR LISTENING TO THE PODCAST FROM AUSTRALIA.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT COCKROACHES FOR OSCAR.

D:  IT’S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR SINCE WE RECEIVED THIS REQUEST, AND WE ARE SO HAPPY TO FINALLY GET CURIOUS ABOUT COCKROACHES FOR OSCAR.  FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVEN’T HEARD IT YET, WE ALSO GOT CURIOUS ABOUT BUSH FIRES, OR AS WE CALL THEM IN THE UNITED STATES, WILDFIRES.  THAT WAS IN A SPECIAL EPISODE WE RELEASED ON JANUARY 17TH THIS YEAR.  IN THAT EPISODE, OLIVIA INTERVIEWED RUEBEN, WHO HAS TRAVELLED ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES FIGHTING WILDFIRES.  OKAY, IT’S TIME TO LEARN ABOUT COCKROACHES.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHICH LANGUAGE DOES THE WORD COCKROACH COME FROM?

D:  WHILE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, LET’S LEARN WHY PEOPLE USUALLY GET GROSSED OUT WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT COCKROACHES.

O:  PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE GROSS BECAUSE THEY EAT GARBAGE AND CAN SPREAD BACTERIA AROUND AND MAKE PEOPLE SICK.

D:  THEY ALSO POOP A LOT AS THEY WALK.  THEY USE THEIR POOP TO MARK THEIR PATH AND MAKE IT EASIER TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND.  

O:  THEIR SALIVA CAN ALSO CAUSE ALLERGIES AND ASTHMA IN HUMANS.

D:  ON TOP OF ALL THAT, COCKROACHES ARE ALSO VERY HARD TO GET RID OF IF YOU HAVE THEM IN YOUR HOME.

O:  AND… THEY REPRODUCE QUICKLY, WHICH MEANS THEY HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF BABIES.

D:  THERE ARE ABOUT 4,000 ROACH SPECIES THAT EXIST, BUT THE MOST COMMON PESTS THAT USUALLY FIND THEIR WAY INTO PEOPLE’S HOMES INCLUDE THE GERMAN COCKROACH, THE AMERICAN COCKROACH, AND THE ORIENTAL COCKROACH.  DON’T BE FOOLED BY THESE NAMES, BECAUSE THE GERMAN, AMERICAN, AND ORIENTAL COCKROACHES CAN BE FOUND ALMOST EVERYWHERE ON EARTH, BESIDES ANTARCTICA.      

O:  COCKROACHES WILL EAT ANYTHING, LITERALLY ANYTHING.  THEY ARE NOT PICKY EATERS LIKE I AM.  

D:  SHE’S NOT KIDDING.  ROACHES EAT PLANTS, GARBAGE, POOP, OTHER INSECTS, HUMAN FOOD, WHATEVER THEY CAN GET A HOLD OF.  

O:  SOME ANIMALS, LIKE SMALL MAMMALS AND REPTILES EAT COCKROACHES.  THERE ARE ALSO PLACES WHERE PEOPLE EAT COCKROACHES. 

D:  HMM… I’LL PASS.  OKAY… MANY OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN A COCKROACH BEFORE.  THEY ARE INSECTS THAT ARE USUALLY BLACK OR BROWN.  THEY ARE ALSO ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO LONG, NOT INCLUDING THEIR LONG ANTENNAE.

O:  MOST MALES HAVE WINGS AND MOST FEMALES DON’T.  CAN COCKROACHES FLY?

D:  SOME SPECIES OF COCKROACHES CAN FLY.  FOR EXAMPLE, ADULT AMERICAN COCKROACHES CAN FLY FOR SHORT DISTANCES.  IT IS MORE COMMON TO SEE THEM GLIDE FROM A HIGH PLACE, LIKE A TREE.  MOST COCKROACHES DON’T FLY AT ALL.

O:  COCKROACH BODIES HAVE 3 MAIN PARTS… THE HEAD, THE THORAX, AND THE ABDOMEN.

D:  THEY ALSO HAVE THREE PAIRS OF JOINTED LEGS.  WHEN I SAY JOINTED, I MEAN THAT EACH OF THEIR LEGS HAS A JOINT, OR A PLACE WHERE THE LEG CAN BEND, THE SAME WAY THAT HUMAN LEGS CAN BEND AT THE KNEE.  

O:  THE ROACH HEAD HAS EYES, MOUTHPARTS, AND ANTENNAE.

D:  THEIR HEAD ALSO HAS A BRAIN INSIDE, BUT THE COCKROACH BRAIN IS NOT QUITE AS IMPORTANT AS A BRAIN IS TO A HUMAN.  IN FACT, GET READY FOR THE GROSSEST FACT OF THIS EPISODE… COCKROACHES ARE ABLE TO LIVE FOR MORE THAN A WEEK WITHOUT THEIR HEAD ATTACHED.  

O:  WHAT THE WHAT?  THAT’S CRAZY!  ALSO, COCKROACHES DON’T BREATHE THROUGH A MOUTH OR NOSE THE WAY HUMANS DO.

D:  THEY USE THINGS CALLED SPIRACLES, WHICH ARE HOLES LOCATED ON THEIR SIDES, TO GET AIR FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS.  

O:  THE 3 PAIRS OF LEGS COCKROACHES HAVE EXTEND FROM THEIR THORAX.

D:  THE PAIR OF LEGS CLOSEST TO THEIR HEADS ARE THE SHORTEST AND THE ONES FURTHEST AWAY ARE LONGEST.  THEIR LEGS ALLOW THEM TO MOVE VERY QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.  THEY CAN RUN AS FAST AS 50 BODY LENGTHS PER SECOND.  JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW FAST THAT IS, A HUMAN TRAVELING AT 50 BODY LENGTHS PER SECOND WOULD BE RUNNING AT ROUGHLY 200 MILES, OR 322 KILOMETERS, PER HOUR.            

O:  THE COCKROACH’S ABDOMEN HAS LOTS OF IT’S ORGANS.

D:  THE COCKROACH ABDOMEN CONTAINS THE HEART AND THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO PROCESS FOOD.   

O:  COCKROACHES USUALLY LIVE UP TO A YEAR, AND THEY ARE CAPABLE OF MAKING LOTS OF BABIES.

D:  A SINGLE FEMALE COCKROACH CAN PRODUCE HUNDREDS OF BABIES, CALLED NYMPHS, IN IT’S LIFETIME.      

O:  COCKROACHES EXISTED WHEN DINOSAURS ROAMED THE EARTH.

D:  ISN’T THAT AMAZING?  COCKROACHES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AT LEAST 200 MILLION YEARS.   

O:  WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A ROACH PROBLEM IN YOUR HOUSE?

D:  THERE ARE 2 IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO.  THE FIRST IS THAT YOU SHOULD CLEAN YOUR HOUSE.  ROACHES LIKE FOOD, SO DISPOSE OF YOUR FOOD AFTER YOU’RE DONE EATING.  ROACHES ALSO LIKE EATING GARBAGE.  KEEPING YOUR HOUSE CLEAN CAN MAKE YOUR HOME LESS ATTRACTIVE FOR ROACHES.  ALSO, YOU SHOULD INSPECT YOUR HOUSE FOR ENTRY POINTS.  THE ROACHES MUST BE GETTING IN FROM SOMEWHERE.  IF YOU SEE A POTENTIAL ENTRY POINT, YOU WANT TO SEAL IT TO PREVENT ROACHES FROM GETTING IN.  COCKROACHES ARE RATHER SMALL AND THEY DON’T NEED TOO MUCH SPACE TO ENTER YOUR HOUSE.  IF THAT DOESN’T WORK, YOU MAY WANT TO GET PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE, BUT DON’T DELAY.  AS WE SAID, ROACHES REPRODUCE VERY QUICKLY, SO SMALL ROACH PROBLEMS CAN BECOME BIG ROACH PROBLEMS VERY QUICKLY, AND OFTEN TIMES IF YOU SEE ONE ROACH IN YOUR HOME, CHANCES ARE YOU HAVE A BIGGER PROBLEM.

O:  THAT’S BECAUSE ROACHES ARE NOCTURNAL, MEANING THEY ARE ACTIVE AT NIGHT.  THEY ARE GOOD AT HIDING DURING THE DAY.  

D:  SO, YOU MAY SEE ONE OR TWO ROACHES AND GET RID OF THEM AND THINK THE PROBLEM IS OVER, BUT THERE IS A CHANCE THAT YOU JUST HAVEN’T FOUND THEIR HIDING SPOT, BECAUSE ROACHES ARE VERY GOOD AT HIDING FROM HUMANS.  

O:  ROACHES CAN ALSO HOLD THEIR BREATH FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES, SO DON’T TRY FLUSHING THEM DOWN THE TOILET. 

D:  THAT’S GOOD ADVICE.  OKAY, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHICH LANGUAGE DOES THE WORD COCKROACH COME FROM?

O:  IT COMES FROM THE SPANISH WORD CUCARACHA. 

D:  THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING.  CUCARACHA TRANSLATES TO WOODLOUSE.  THE WOODLOUSE LOOKS LIKE A COCKROACH, BUT IT IS REALLY NOTHING LIKE THE COCKROACH.  IN FACT, IT ISN’T EVEN CLASSIFIED AS AN INSECT.  A WOODLOUSE IS A CRUSTACEAN, SO IT IS MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO CRABS AND LOBSTERS.
O:  BEFORE WE END THE EPISODE, LET’S ANSWER A QUESTION FOR A LISTENER FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS.

VM:  “HELLO, MY NAME IS ALLISON WILLIAMS, AND I’M FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS.  MY QUESTION FOR YOU GUYS IS HOW DO WE GO BLIND OR LOSE OUR EYESIGHT?  THANK YOU.  BYE.”

O:  THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR VOICEMAIL, ALLISON.  

D:  WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTION.  THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS.  IT CAN BE GENETIC, WHICH MEANS THAT IT CAN BE PASSED DOWN FROM PARENTS TO THEIR KIDS.  IT CAN ALSO HAPPEN FROM AN ACCIDENT, LIKE IF SOMETHING HURTS YOUR EYES.  IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PROTECT YOUR EYES IF YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY HARM YOUR EYES, LIKE PLAYING CERTAIN SPORTS, LIKE HOCKEY, OR DOING CERTAIN JOBS, LIKE CONSTRUCTION.  THERE ARE ALSO DISEASES THAT CAN CAUSE SOME LEVEL OF BLINDNESS, LIKE CATARACTS, GLAUCOMA, AND MACULAR DEGENERATION, WHICH USUALLY IMPACT ELDERLY PEOPLE MORE FREQUENTLY.  

IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL LIKE ALLISON OF HOUSTON, TEXAS AND YOU WANT TO HEAR YOUR VOICE ON THE PODCAST, PLEASE LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL BY CALLING 856-425-2324.  PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE US YOUR FIRST NAME, AGE, AND HOMETOWN.  WE’VE RECEIVED DOZENS OF VOICEMAIL MESSAGES THAT ASK US QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANY OTHER DETAILS INCLUDING NO NAMES.  UNFORTUNATELY, WE CAN’T PLAY THOSE VOICEMAILS ON THE PODCAST.  THANKS TO ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE LEFT US VOICEMAILS ALREADY.  WE LOVE HEARING FROM OUR LISTENERS.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  117 - COCKROACHES.

D:  GREAT JOB, OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB OSCAR AND ALLISON FOR GIVING US STUFF TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT.  WE WANT TO WISH ALL OUR LISTENERS A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. 

O:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

D:  WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET CURIOUS WITH YOU AGAIN IN 2021.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT ROAD SIGNS FOR LISTENERS IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.