People Built Shrine, Held Funeral for Dead Cockroach Someone Forgot to Clean Up

Normally, most of us would scamper away in fear, shriek our hearts out or go into genocide mode when we see a cockroach. These critters have earned such disdain and disgust from us humans, that who would actually give a dead cockroach a funeral right? Well apparently, the Anthropology department and a couple of students from Texas A&M University.

On December 3, Associate Professor Michael Alvard of the university’s Anthropology department came across a dead cockroach by the stairwell. The dead roach was even named “Rosie Roach” and was given a little tombstone. Alvard snapped a pic and posted in his Facebook with the words,

“There has been a dead cockroach in the anthropology building’s stairwell for at least two weeks. Some enterprising person has now made her a little shrine,”

2-week old dead Rosie Roach in her final resting place.

By evening the memorial for Rosie grew, with flowers and other tributes…

and even more tributes… Perhaps some of these have been Rosie's favorite things? Never Forget!

The next day, somebody even provided her a coffin and a funeral pyre

P.S Can we just say whoever touched her and put her in the “coffin” is such a brave soul! I’d die from cringing!

By the third day, much love for Rosie poured out. Some left her stuff toys, candles and all sorts of memorabilia.

There were even notes and poetry dedicated for her.

Even if thou have struck fear in my heart, thou shall not be forgotten…
I must say, Anthropology students sure are a creative bunch!

However just as everything has a beginning, it too must end.

A week after the memorial for Rosie had been set up, she was given a proper send-off via cremation. A spokesperson from the Department of Anthropology said that at least a dozen student and staff attended the funeral, while some still paid their respects later on that day. They even commented that,

“The memorial brought our department together and added to our sense of community. Students from outside the department would come by daily to see what had been added and would comment on how great this was,”

This story is amazing in a way that it shows how humans value life and regard death even for a cockroach. But it’s also kinda intriguing how the cockroach was unremoved there for two weeks! Faulty cleaning or sanitation is it? Or since we’re dealing with the Anthropology department here, is it a social experiment? We can never know… at least Rosie Roach will be remembered in history as a cockroach that brought all those people together!

What do you think of this? Crazy? Awesome? Sound-off below!