Thursday, April 01, 2004

gross out!

i joined a science project team.

yes, i know that science projects are usually something limited to primary school, where everyone either turns up with a volcano (baking soda, vinegar, red food dye...and voila!) or a piece of mouldy bread. i can still remember being super excited over my mould project back in QBS, hong kong, where we hung damp pieces of bread around our classroom and watched the black-green fungus grow.

absolutely fascinating.

well, pre-u science projects are somewhat different, but one thing has definitely not changed: the ick factor. while brainstorming for a project to work on, the team came up with some pretty wild ideas about breeding weird one-eyed microorganisms or bubbling phosphate into water to watch algae grow.

what we decided on is no less gross. we decided to study the effects of natural repellents on cockroaches, based on the myth that pandan leaves are effective in warding off the disgusting critters.

how wrong we were! the cockroaches proved to live up to their reputation as the most hardy of all living creatures. they were unfazed by the various pungent materials we tested on them, thus giving us a lesson on why they managed to outlive the dinosaurs and the other 99.9% of species that have gone extinct since the world began. they shrugged off mothballs (well, i didn't see them shrug, nor am i sure they have shoulders, but with all those joints...who knows?) and turned up their antennae at pandan leaves.

but that wasn't the really gross thing about them. as you know, i am not really afraid of cockroaches. as long as they are grounded, i take consolation in the fact that i can either shoo them away or stomp on 'em. however, i was unprepared to face 20 huge american cockroaches all clustered around in one jar, staring menacingly at us scientist wannabes.

and the smell. oh the smell! if you thought the smell your flip-flops reek off after you step on a cockroach was disgusting, try taking a whiff of eau de 20 cockroaches when you unintentionally open the jar that contained them!

not something i would like to experience again.

i can tell you what i learnt from this. cockroaches truly are the scum of the earth! and although i'm a stauch environmentalist who despises the idea of all that synthetic chemicals, killing not only cockroaches but possibly every living thing they make contact with, seeping into our environment...i'm all out for research on developing some natural way to get rid of 'em all!

forget about repellants...what about a lean, mean, green cockroach killing machine?

lishun at 1:16 PM

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