In a world where we’ve talked about everything from space exploration to the depths of oceans, there’s one topic that we, for some reason, shy away from. It’s time to break the silence, and talk about something truly universal, yet rarely discussed: ‘cockroaches’.

Yes, those little, disgusting creatures that make even the bravest of us scream and leap onto the nearest piece of furniture. We’ve all had that spine-chilling encounter with a cockroach once, twice or maybe many, many times in our lives, and it’s about time we embrace this shared horror!

Cockroaches are omnipotent, inhabiting almost every place, especially the places where only humans must be found. They have the special ability to create a panic situation in almost every house. Suddenly appearing in between, creeping from the corner of the door, crossing the way between two people, discussing something important, and making them forget the topic of discussion and having a new topic to frantically talk about.

They hold the credit for ruining your happy mood as well, when you start having a bite of your favourite food and one of them abruptly shows up, as if having a plan with their friends to come over and have a party.

Finding a group of them when you just turn the switches on in your room after having them switched off for a while is no surprise. And tiptoeing after that is indeed your only option.

Another time when they just seem to be a nuisance is when they jump out on you as soon as you open a cabinet, as if upset at you for interrupting their fun as they creeped all around the door.

And yes, some of you may have witnessed these roaches in the middle of their so-called colour change. But if you haven’t, let me enlighten you with this fun (or horrifying) fact: these creepy little things actually moult — that is, they shed their old exoskeleton. Right after moulting, their new shell that appears is soft, white or pale. Within just a few hours, it darkens into the usual brown or black shade as it hardens.

Surprised? As if cockroaches weren’t already creepy enough, they really take things up a notch during ecdysis — the scientific name for this shedding process — when they look almost translucent and ghostly. How disgusting!

These little survival experts aren’t just house-party crashers — they’re practically time travellers. Cockroaches first appeared during the Carboniferous period, even before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. That means they’ve survived mass extinctions, shifting continents, ice ages and all kinds of global drama. Like when the meteor hit Earth around 66 million years ago, causing mass extinction, cockroaches were like, “No big deal.” Their ability to live off minimal food, squeeze into tight spaces, and resist environmental changes helped them breeze through the apocalypse.

Moreover, archaeological digs in Egyptian tombs have revealed cockroach remains — yep, they were crashing parties back then too. Some ancient texts even mentioned methods of repelling them using herbs and oils.

And if you still don’t believe their superpowers, let me tell you that they can tolerate radiation better than humans. While they aren’t immune to radiation, they can withstand levels far higher than humans.

So yeah, while we’re still figuring out how to deal with daily stress, cockroaches are chilling like, “Been there, survived that — for 300 million years straight.”

And there’s no doubt — even if humanity disappears from the Earth, these fellows will still be around, chilling as the lone survivors.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 19th, 2025