This Is How Cockroaches Apparently Survived the Asteroid

And how they will likely survive whatever catastrophe is next.

Transcript

00:00Around 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into Earth.

00:08The impact and resulting cloud of dust it tossed into the sky changed the planet forever,

00:13killing off the dinosaurs and lots of other creatures in the process.

00:16But somehow, these survived.

00:18That's right, cockroaches have been skittering around on our planet for around 280 million

00:22years, outlasting so many other species, and it turns out their shape is just one reason

00:27why they were able to do so.

00:28Since cockroaches are flat, they're able to squeeze under rocks and into holes in the

00:31ground, allowing them to evade the spiking temperatures caused by the impact, which scientists

00:36now believe caused volcanoes to erupt thousands of miles from the impact point.

00:40And after that was over and the sun disappeared behind a thick cloud of dust, cockroaches

00:44were still right at home.

00:45They are omnivorous, meaning when the plants died, they moved on to other foods, surviving

00:49off meat or even poop.

00:51And even their young offspring are protected, as they are laid in little, armored egg sacs.