Cockroaches at Their Best at Night

Science_afficionado writes "A new study has found that cockroaches are morons in the morning and geniuses in the evening in terms of their learning capacity. Previous studies suggest that the learning capacity of both people and rats are also affected by their internal biological clocks. But the effect is far more dramatic in cockroaches and it is the first time it has been found in insects. And, no, the researchers didn't try giving their cockroaches a sip of coffee to see if it revived them!"

Another checklist...

[Ariastis]

Would they learn better if installed in groups? In cubicles? Are there pointy-haired cockroaches? Did the researchers give them 20% of their time to work on personal projects? come one, where's the research!

Tell me about it

[guruevi]

My previous boss was also a moron during the day and only when it was time to leave, came he up with a genius idea and called a meeting. Does that make him a cockroach?

what does this mean?

[jollyreaper]

If we switch Washington, DC to working the night shift, we'll get a better government?

No idea

[suv4x4]

The people who conducted this study said in an interview:

"An interesting question is why the animal would not want to learn at that particular time of day. We have no idea."

The interview was conducted during the day. I leave you with your own conclusions on the similarity between cockroaches and some people.

Others are just plain morons

[bernywork]

I haven't heard of insects committing suicide before, but there has been a couple that have walked under my feet as I am walking. I guess Darwin would have something to say about that....

Re:Tell me about it

[goose-incarnated]

and only when it was time to leave, came he up with a genius idea and called a meeting

Responding on /. in the morning, are we?

Hangover?

[clarkkent09]

I'm not in the fuckin mood for running around some stupid maze. And turn down those lights!

Re:Who the f**k sponsors those studies

[Anonymous Coward]

As opposed to waking you up at 3 am in the afternoon? ;-)

Change of name?

[Baumi]

Considering this new development, shouldn't we be calling them "clockroaches" from now on?

Curious...

[__aaclcg7560]

Did anyone cross-referenced the late night genius cockroach study with the I.T. workers sleeping on the job [slashdot.org] study?

The researchers also found

[simong]

that if you pull a cockroach's legs off it goes deaf [k12.ca.us].

Re:what does this mean?

[BiloxiGeek]

HAH!! I doubt you could even get a cockroach to stoop so low as to working for our Uncle Sammy in DC!! Cockroaches have higher standards!

Cockroach racing, anyone?

[niktemadur]

Back in my college days, there was a nasty area right across the boulevard from Monterrey Tech (in Mexico) unaffectionately known as The Bronx. During weekends, it wasn't uncommon to see a molotov cocktail hurled here and there, from four or five story apartment buildings, just for the hell of it. There would be a towable hot dog stand parked on the curb, suddenly you'd hear a perpetrator from above yell "MOLOTOV!", the hot dog vendor would yell back "FUCK YOU!", then a molotov cocktail would fly in a parabola right above customers' heads and burst into flames in an empty lot across the street. Some of the customers would smile or laugh, some would groan in exasperation - but nobody was shocked.

Sanitation in the area was a disaster, there were so many cockroaches in the buildings that many students simply gave up trying to exterminate them and simply accepted them as "pets", going as far as wagering on cockroach races. I don't know if it still exists, but back in those days there was a cheap repellent stick known as Chinese Chalk that was smeared on surfaces, and while it was fresh, supposedly no cockroach would cross the boundary. Racecourses were designed with Chinese Chalk, beers were popped open, wages were placed on the floor, and the festivities began.

Years later, simply mentioning The Bronx can still make ex-alumni shudder.

Aw, what the hell, here's another good cockroach story:

One day, a friend of mine saw to his horror, three cockroaches huddling in his kitchen wall. So the guy approached nervously with a can of Raid and, involuntarily shutting his eyes, blasted 'em for about ten seconds before jumping several feet back. With morbid fascination and never taking his eyes off them, the guy slowly approached the dying, quivering roaches, still attached to the wall. He was just a couple of feet away when two of the roaches, in a final, heroic act of revenge, lunged at him. Screaming bloody murder in a high pitched tone that must've cracked a neighborhood window or two, the guy jerked violently, tripped and fell in a weird position, dislocating his shoulder.
On a happy note, my friend himself tells that story, and has a good laugh while doing so.

Re:Who the f**k sponsors those studies

[Joebert]

Kinda makes you wonder who was really being observed doesn't it ?

Re:Who the f**k sponsors those studies

[Walt Dismal]

"they spread diseases and cause food poisoning, mostly due to their fondness for eating rotting food and crawling through excrement"

Wait...wait.. I'm confused. Are we talking about politicians here?