Cockroaches: They've Been Around Forever, And They Aren't Going Anywhere

Our latest Please Explain is all about cockroaches! Even as our efforts to exterminate them have developed into ever more complex forms of chemical warfare, roaches’ basic design of six legs, two hypersensitive antennae, and one set of voracious mandibles has persisted unchanged for millions of years. In The Cockroach Papers: A Compendium of History and Lore, Richard Schweid explores their astonishing diversity, how they mate, what they’ll eat.