Zoo comes up with novel way to name cockroaches

The roach-naming program aims to make ‘recently dumped’ people feel better about themselves on Valentine’s Day

The Hemsley Conservation Center (HCC) in Kent, UK has come up with a project that, it suggests, will benefit both those who “have been dumped recently,” and wildlife at the zoo.

For a small donation of £1.50 (around $2), it says it will give one of its cockroaches a real person’s name, “to make you feel better about getting back at your ex this Valentine’s Day.”

Applicants to the ‘name a cockroach program’ are promised a downloadable certificate complete with a message box. The insects’ names will also be featured on a special roach board at the zoo enclosure, and all submissions will appear in a roach book on display.

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The park originally came up with the fundraising scheme to name the irksome bugs in 2019, and it apparently turned out to be so popular that it was continued and expanded.

Organizers say you can now “honor” not just the “worthless ex,” but even your least favorite politician because “all names are welcome.” However, the HCC also reminded people in the announcement that the bugs themselves are actually good, being “an incredibly important part of the earth’s eco system.”