This Valentine's Day, give the gift of a hissing cockroach
Still searching for a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your special someone? Have you considered a hissing cockroach?
If you didn't just sprint screaming from the room, hear us out. You're not giving anyone an actual, living insect. Instead you're naming a cockroach after your loved one. And not just any roach, one of the Bronx Zoo’s Madagascar hissing cockroaches. You can't beat that in terms of unexpected romantic gestures.
Gothamist reports that the zoo has once again launched their annual romantic gesture, complete with a cute video.
You pay $10 (proceeds support the Wildlife Conservation Society), and the zoo sends a digital certificate that you can bestow upon the person for whom you’ve named the roach. If you up your contribution to $35, they’ll include a printed certificate and a box of chocolates (presumably untouched by roaches) or a lovely little stuffed cockroach. If you want both the candy and the plush roach, you can can have the whole package for $50.
It’s really a bargain, considering how much lasting joy it will bring to your loved one knowing that somewhere there is a giant bug -- the Madagascar hissing cockroach can grow to up to four-inches long, shudder -- that shares their name.
Of course, it also makes an equally good troll, if you've got someone in your life whose skin you want to make crawl.
Cassie Murdoch is Mashable's Culture Editor.. Before coming here, Cassie was Senior Culture Writer at Vocativ. She previously wrote for Jezebel and The Hairpin. Cassie spends most of her time thinking about and consuming cheese in all its glorious forms.
