For most people, cockroaches don’t have a reputation worth memorializing. At an apartment complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee, though, tenants found the death of a roach deserving — so much so that their attempts at honoring it went viral.
The first image is a recognizable scene for many who live or have lived in an apartment: a dead roach on its back in the hallway, legs curled inward, shiny brown wings splayed. However, one difference is the makeshift paper tombstone above the roach that reads “RIP.”
Bettis, 29, recalls laughing when she first spotted the dead roach and its tombstone in the hallway outside of her apartment on the fourth floor where she lived.
“Every time I came back out of my room, there were more things added. I don’t know who added what,” she explains.
The memorial initially grew with small items, like tiny rocks and a touch of greenery. Then, in the coming days, larger statements started popping up, such as a poster that reads “Wanted: 1st degree murder” with a reward.
Bettis, 29, recalls laughing when she first spotted the dead roach and its tombstone in the hallway outside of her apartment on the fourth floor where she lived.
“Every time I came back out of my room, there were more things added. I don’t know who added what,” she explains.
The memorial initially grew with small items, like tiny rocks and a touch of greenery. Then, in the coming days, larger statements started popping up, such as a poster that reads “Wanted: 1st degree murder” with a reward.
“I was so surprised it went viral so quickly,” Bettis says. “I never expected something so simple and funny to blow up like that.”
As for why the death of a cockroach would become so popular on social media, Bettis thinks it’s more about the simple, shared humor than the insect itself.
“It is a tough time right now, so anything simple and funny really resonates with a lot of people,” she explains. “Some people don’t like that kind of humor, but for many, it’s special.”
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