WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What If Cockroaches Went Extinct?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hi brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and this this is a classic

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<v Speaker 1>episode from our archives. I like insects as a general rule,

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<v Speaker 1>but I have to admit that even I've had my

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<v Speaker 1>moments where I've wished that particularly annoying ones like mosquitoes

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<v Speaker 1>or cockroaches would just quietly vanish from this planet. But

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<v Speaker 1>what would really happen if there were suddenly no cockroaches?

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<v Speaker 1>Hi brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb. Here, what if there

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<v Speaker 1>were no cockroaches? The question sounds like it's straight out

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<v Speaker 1>of the marketing materials from Paradise. Cockroaches spread bacteria like salmonella,

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<v Speaker 1>they leave droppings behind everywhere they walk, and they can

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<v Speaker 1>exacerbate allergies and asthma. All our good reasons to squash

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<v Speaker 1>them all, but not so fast. Only a few species

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<v Speaker 1>of roaches out of an estimated five to ten thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>are commonly found infesting homes. Most cockroaches live in warm,

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<v Speaker 1>tropical climates, happily minding their own business and staying out

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<v Speaker 1>of humans business. Some are even beautiful, no really, and

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<v Speaker 1>glow in the dark. But if you are still determined

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<v Speaker 1>to play this game out, then would better take a

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<v Speaker 1>look at what would happen if they all disappeared. Long

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<v Speaker 1>story short, it's not good. In tropical forests. Cockroaches feed

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<v Speaker 1>on decaying wood and leaves, and all those droppings they

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<v Speaker 1>leave behind, well, they're filled with organic debris and nutrients,

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<v Speaker 1>including nitrogen, which are added back into the soil. Nitrogen

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<v Speaker 1>is essential to the growth of trees, which are essential

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<v Speaker 1>to forests and our own lives, since we use wood

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<v Speaker 1>products to shelter both ourselves and the animals that we

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<v Speaker 1>do actually like. Oh and speaking of those animals that

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<v Speaker 1>we like, especially small mammals, birds and reptiles, they feed

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<v Speaker 1>on cockroaches, And since other animals feed on these small

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<v Speaker 1>mammals and reptiles, disrupting even this one small skittering link

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<v Speaker 1>in the food chain could have a widespread effect on

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<v Speaker 1>the world around us. So the next time you're attempted

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<v Speaker 1>to smash a cockroach before it runs under your fridge,

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<v Speaker 1>consider that it may be helping to refuel a local

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<v Speaker 1>forest when it isn't hanging around your house or I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead, but don't wish death on the whole lot

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<v Speaker 1>of them worldwide. Don't worry though, they are in no

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<v Speaker 1>risk of going extinct anytime soon. Cockroaches have been around

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<v Speaker 1>since before the dinosaurs. Cockroach fossils show that they've been

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<v Speaker 1>around for at least three hundred million years. That's some

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<v Speaker 1>serious staying power. They really are some of the hardiest

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<v Speaker 1>creatures around, capable of withstanding radiation and huge doses far

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<v Speaker 1>more than a human could handle, and going without food

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<v Speaker 1>for up to a month. So if you do squash

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<v Speaker 1>one scurrying across your floor, you're in no danger of

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<v Speaker 1>having doomed these resourceful bugs to extinction. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>originally produced by Tristan McNeil and it's based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article what if there were no cockroaches on how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com written by Karen Kirkpatrick. Brain Stuff is production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio and partnership with how stuffworks dot

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<v Speaker 1>Com and is produced by Tyler Plang. Four more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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