Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but the San Antonio Zoo has a much squirmier suggestion. Every year for Valentine's Day, the zoo invites scorned lovers to buy a cockroach for $5, name it after the person who broke their heart, then watch it being fed to a larger animal. The "Cry Me a Cockroach" event is a fundraiser, and in 2021, it raised more than $35,000 USD, which will go towards updating the zoo's jaguar habitat.
Some of the money raised came from $25 donations for which, instead of a cockroach, you could name a pre-frozen rat and see it fed to a reptile. New in 2021 was a "vegetarian" option, which entailed an assortment of greens being offered to a herbivore -- perfect for naming after annoying roommates. While donors are welcome to watch in person, the zoo also posted videos of the the Valentine's Day feeding frenzy on social media for all to see. As an added bonus, donors received a certificate marking their donation, which could be proudly hung on a wall -- ideally somewhere their ex might see it.
For those who missed out this year, there's no need to despair -- the San Antonio Zoo plans to hold the event in 2022.
Concerning cockroaches:
- A cockroach can survive for months without food, a month without water, and even a week without a head.
- Chemical signals left in their trails allow cockroaches to follow one another to food and develop a swarm.
- Anyone who's tried to step on a roach knows they're quick; in fact, they can run three miles (5 km) in an hour.
