Cockroaches!!?

Hard to believe but cockroaches have a redeeming side. We shun them, destroy them, hate them, but it appears there is more to them. Cockroaches can save lives. A transmitter can be attached to them and since they are small enough to go anywhere, they can easily be sent through the rubble after a natural disaster and relay if there is life. There are 450 species of them—more than we need I’m sure—and of those only 4 species can be considered pests. In some countries they are pets and are part of folklore. They have and are providing inspiration forscientists. The way they easily move and can use their wings to right themselves back up inspired one scientist to design a robot. The way their legs are hinged are inspiring another to design prostheses. They are being studied in medicine also since they apparently produce their own antibiotics; they spend their lives essentially in dirty environments and do not seem to show ill effects. And then there is the fact that the insect can be eaten as it is in some parts of China, and can therefore be or become a cheap source of protein. I was watching a documentary on Claridges in London where a couple of years ago they and Noma, one of the world’s best rated restaurant served, a special dinner costing 195 pounds per person. The appetizer was a specie of ants, 6 each served live. So the idea of eating cockroaches may not be as far-fetched as someone like me would like to believe.
What all this about cockroaches points out is how easy it is to be prejudiced, and how our ignorance can lead us into that temptation.