How do they know cockroaches can survive an atomic bomb?

Answer 1

They don't know. It's only a theory.

BTW, any cockroach at ground zero is just as much toast as any other living creature is.

Answer 2

Cockroaches and "The Bomb"

You've probably heard the story about cockroaches surviving a nuclear war: we die but they live! This is supposed to make you feel better when you have trouble getting rid of these critters.

So, the real truth: radiologists have found that humans can safely withstand a one-time exposure of 5 rems (A "rem" is the dosage of radiation that will cause a specific, measured amount of injury to human tissue). A lethal dose is 800 rems or more (people are exposed to about 16 rems during their lifetime).

Insect researchers have found that cockroaches can tolerate a much higher dose -- really higher! The lethal dose for the American cockroach is 67,500 rems and for the German cockroach it is between 90,000 and 105,000 rems (yikes!). In truth the amount of radiation that cockroaches can withstand is equivalent to that of a thermonuclear explosion. So, show a little respect the next time your chasing one through the kitchen with a spray can in your hand!

Reprinted from the Urban Pest Control Research Center Newsletter, April 8, 1996. By Bill Robinson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Entomology

Answer 3

Hi
Yes i read some where that cockroaches has better chance of survival then others. even if you cut there head, they are still able to survive for a long time.
I did that in my school lab and i was bit freak in those dayz but not any more.
hope this will help

Answer 4

because after the 2 a bombs that were dropped into japan the only things left alive near the impact zone were cockroaches. hence cockroaches can survive an a bomb blast

Answer 5

The basic explanation is that cockroaches are much more tolerant of radiation exposure than humans.... A lethal dose for a human is 800 rems while a cockroach can withstand 67000 rems.

Answer 6

Coz roaches are small and they can easily fit underground. Scientists only say that they have a HIGHER chance of surviving a nuke bomb. Make sense because the real devastation of a nuke bomb is its after shock which only affects anything on and above the ground.

Answer 7

Most don't survive the initial blast, but they reproduce so quickly that it only takes one fertilized egg laying female to spawn hundreds of offspring, and since roaches don't share our qualms about inbreeding, those hundreds can quickly become thousands, then millions. On an individual level, insects aren't any better at surviving than any other animal, but on the level of a species, their rapid reproductive rate virtually guarantees their survival.

Answer 8

Because cockroaches and Keith Richards have a pact!

Answer 9

To much time on their hands unfortunately. Did anybody see Coast, Instead of finding a way to cure Cancer, They were trying to find out which beach has the best sand for building sandcastles.

Answer 10

Hi, That is so GROSS but they say, that cockroaches will be the one to survive if anything should happen. This is still so GROSS!!!
poppy1