Ask McFartnuggets: “Why Do Cockroaches Always Die on Their Backs?

When you die on your
front sometimes people
think you're planking.

Dear McFartnuggets: 

I looked in the back of my pantry today and found dozens of dead cockroaches laying on their backs. Every cockroach I ever seen dies on its back. Why do cockroaches always die like this? -- Rodney from Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Dear Rodney:

The scientific answer is that when cockroaches die their legs usually curl up and shrivel. When that happens the cockroach body naturally flips over. Not all cockroaches die like this though, it really depends on positioning just like human death. The other answer I have is that dying on your back is pretty much a standard way to die. That’s how a lot of people die. If you could choose any way to die it would probably be on your back because it’s the most comfortable. Then when we get put in our coffins we get placed inside on our backs. Imagine if cockroaches died on their belly. Then you’d see them and probably hit, smash, or crush them thinking they’re still alive. You think that’s what cockroaches want? They want to rest in peace when they die! They don’t want to have their corpses mutilated and that’s what would happen if they died on their front. Being on your back is just a natural death position. Thanks for the question, Rodney.

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