Cockroach runs all the signs of gambling there: the uncertainty of the outcome, the possibility of betting, the real struggle. And of course, the entourage: excitement, fans, a real struggle. And let it not be underground dog battles or horse races, in terms of entertainment to which cockroach races do not fall short, but the races of six-legged human friends have other advantages:
- The exoticism of entertainment is, in fact, very few people can boast that they have seen or, moreover, participated in such competitions. And even fewer people made real bets here.
- Tickling of the nerves, especially in women. Still, the typical "stallion" here causes a lot of ambiguous emotions in subtle viewers.
- Ease of carrying out - for carrying out cockroach runs rather big room or a lawn in front of the house. No rings, no stadiums.
In serious cases, cockroach races can withstand the whole entourage of serious games: here both a trained participant of the "race", and stakes, and each player's own nickname, a large audience, and even a mini-race track!
Entertainment history
Cockroach Races - ancient entertainment. Evidence of cockroach races are available in the history of ancient Egypt, Byzantium, and the Roman Empire.
It is believed that this type of gambling reached its peak in Turkey. Writers write about cockroach races in Turkey, and the most famous cockroaches live here.
It is interesting
One of the most famous suppliers of running cockroaches was Kurd Shahin Fesah, who was most active in the middle of the 20th century. He carefully concealed this side of his life, as he was repeatedly convicted for numerous crimes related to betting and gambling, but restless journalists managed to find out on a special farm, a man kept up to half a million cockroaches at a time, and the most famous stars of cockroach sports in Turkey were bought from him.
The first serious mention of the cockroach dates back to the 18th century.There is an opinion that this kind of entertainment was invented in Russia, but historians are increasingly inclined to believe that it owes its origin to sailors who sailed from the countries of the Caribbean. They had a lot of free time, a huge number of cockroaches in cargo from tropical countries, and the desire to somehow entertain themselves during long flights.
Not surprisingly, several English writers talked about sailors in the dens of Jamaica, who enthusiastically placed their bets on the fastest cockroach.
It is known that cockroach races became widespread at the beginning of the last century in Turkey. Nevertheless, the occupation was underground and mainly Russian emigrants participated in it.
On a note
During the shooting of the Russian film “Running,” the film crew did not manage to find evidence that such races were held in Istanbul in the 1920s. However, more thorough research by historians confirmed that after the club was closed, in which the lotto was held regularly, its regular customers switched to the race of cockroaches.
Today, Australia is considered the trendsetter in the field of cockroach races. It was from the small town of Brisbane on the east coast that they became widely spread throughout the country.
The tradition of Brisbane students who hosted competitions in the hostel, which invariably attracted a large number of spectators, initiated the tradition. So big that already very soon the races of the cockroaches became a real show, and so far every year on January 26th a holiday takes place, which is called the Australian Day of the Cockroach. Special costumed points - “Miss Cocky Races” - are timed to the same event.
On a note
Cockroach runs are well described in Russian literature. For example, in the novel “Running” by Mikhail Bulgakov and in “The Adventures of Nevzorov or Ibiscus” by Alexei Tolstoy.
Competition Rules
This kind of competition is considered traditional: each cockroach is placed in a separate groove about one and a half meters long. At the same time, a frightening insect is turned on at the launch site. The cockroach tries to get away to a darker place and runs to the opposite end of the track.
Usually 5-8 cockroaches participate in one race. The owner of each cockroach can drive his party by various means.Usually, participants do not have their own cockroaches, and they simply choose from the organizers of the insects that they like the best horse, gives him a nickname, like "Tarakan-Meteor" and tries to bring him to the finish line as quickly as possible.
Drivers are given almost complete freedom of action: a cockroach can be customized by shouting, highlighting its path with a flashlight, blowing on it so that it can run faster. You can even slightly push the stick, if he lost his way. In the Australian cockroach races there is a main limitation - you can not be very zealous, otherwise you can cripple an athlete.
In Australia, there is another competition system in which there are neither racetracks nor special “racetracks”. In any convenient place, for example, on the front lawn, on the table, on the beach, they outline a wide circle. In the center of the circle are placed in the participants of the arrival and covered with a regular saucepan.
At the signal "Start" raise the pan, and cockroaches crawl in an arbitrary direction. The winner is the one who first crosses the boundaries of the circle. In the "arena" is really hot passions,because each driver seeks to lead his ward along a straight path to the finish and win. Sometimes practiced and races with overcoming obstacles.
The desire to win against drivers of cockroaches is truly incredible. In one of the Tokyo universities they found a way to train cockroaches in the best way. After research, the scientists concluded that the worst of all cockroaches tolerate heat, so they attached a heated wire to the insect's carapace. Researchers got so good at “driving” a cockroach that they can carry it through a maze of pipes!
Stars of the cockroach sport
The most famous champion is considered “Soft Cocky”, which translates to “Soft and bold”, who came first on the race in Australia in 1982. There is even a special “hall of fame”, which lists the winners with the most unusual names - Cocky Balboa (Cheeky Balboa), Cocky Dundee (Cheeky Dundee), Drain Lover (Leak Lover), Priscila-Queen of the Drains (Priscil - Queen of the Leaks).
Drivers usually show unprecedented originality in the choice of nicknames for their wards. So the cockroach races, which were timed to the Berlinale 2001 film festival, were attended by “Ruthless Ivan”, “Unsurpassed Olga,“ Uncompromising Ural ”,“ The Strongest Nina ”, etc.
The Prosecutor, Voland, Impeachment, Zyugan, Zhirin participated in one of the most famous races in Moscow under the leadership of Nikolay Drozdov.
Most often Madagascar cockroaches are involved in the races - the largest and frisky of cockroaches, and one of the fastest-moving insects in general.
It is interesting
In speed developed at short distances, Madagascar cockroaches are second only to racehorse beetles, being able to run a distance equal to 50 lengths of their body in a second. If people ran at proportional speed, sprint champions would run a hundred meters in one second.
In the Caribbean, Colombian cockroaches are in great demand, slightly smaller, but not inferior to Madagascar's agility. But the traditional Russian Prusak and black cockroaches few are suitable for such amusements: they are too small, unpredictable in the direction of running and fussy.
Where today you can look at the races and put up your “stallion”
In a classic form, cockroach races are officially held in all major Australian cities. In our country, there are several agencies that provide all accessories for such competitions for hire as entertainment at a party.
It is enough to call such a company and place an order, and at the right time at the specified address will deliver the cockroaches themselves, treadmills and the necessary attributes. Included comes a specialist who can conduct such competitions.
It is interesting
At the Berlinlarle-2001 film festival, cockroach races were held for the stars of art and cinema. The attraction received incredible praise and good reviews, and all the winnings, among which were quite large, were given to charity. The “Hippodrome” was not ignored until late at night, and according to the results, the organizers could say with confidence that such competitions could bring bright colors to any event and remain a bright trace in the memory of all spectators and participants.
Anyway, but from a purely legal point of view, cockroach runs are a violation of animal rights and an encroachment on the cruel treatment of them. It is unlikely, of course, that the security forces of any country will, for this reason, close the dens in which races are organized, while in higher educational institutions there are rigorous experiments on animals just for teaching students.But as a reason for the next round-up, such a formulation is quite suitable.
Interesting video: cockroach race
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The main thing that cockroaches were not in my head!
Thanks, interesting.