Insects own the earth.
Scientists estimate that at any given moment, there are an estimated 10 quintillion individual insects on the planet at any given moment — that’s a 10 followed by 18 zeros. Compare that to our puny little 8.3 billion human population.
We have a primal instinct to avoid them, but sometimes we can’t. In New York City, where I spent part of my upbringing, you just had to get used to the occasional roach (and hopefully not an infestation). Although they made my skin crawl, I quickly mastered the art of nuking them with a flip-flop (a superior weapon because its bendiness makes the front half accelerate when you whip it at your target).
Now that I live in California, it’s outdoor roaches — whose ancestors have been roaming the planet for 300+ million years — that I occasionally deal with. Turkestan cockroaches, Oriental cockroaches, and American cockroaches only enter the house by accident, but when they do, it’s pretty much always my job to dispatch them. The ones that sometimes get in here are big, disgusting, and evil, but I’ve gotten pretty good at ending their journeys.
That doesn’t mean that I like them or don’t shiver when I spot one. There’s something deep-seated in our brains that causes me, and many others, to physically recoil at the mere sight of the little bastards.
Which is why this reaction of this plucky Los Angeles newscaster is so impressive. A flying roach would terrify the hell out of most people, especially if it decided to land on you. But when one came down on KTLA reporter Rachel Menitoff and started crawling across her chest and neck on live TV, she barely blinked.
Could you do this?
SURPRISE LANDING
— KTLA 5 Morning News (@KTLAMorningNews) July 15, 2026
An insect crashed @KTLA reporter @RachelMenitoff's live shot last night, and we must praise her professionalism. Who else could remain this cool!? pic.twitter.com/a0naM2zxq9
I admit, I cringe just watching the footage. Luckily, she was looking at the camera and couldn’t see the close-up:
🎥🪳 Profesionalismo en su máxima expresión.
— Flash 24/7 (@Flash_24_7) July 15, 2026
La reportera Rachel Menitoff, de KTLA 5 Los Ángeles, terminó su enlace completamente en vivo... sin perder la calma, incluso cuando una cucaracha comenzó a caminar por su pecho. 😳👏
Ni un grito, ni una pausa, ni un gesto de pánico. El… pic.twitter.com/C9TMWGysC0
I hereby nominate her for the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Pulitzer, and any other journalism prizes out there.
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Talk about cool under fire:
Speaking with KTLA.com after the broadcast, Menitoff said she knew the cockroach had landed on her but made a conscious decision to stay focused until the report was finished.
“I knew it was on me,” she said. “But I knew if I took notice of it, I wouldn’t be able to continue on with the report. So I said to myself, just get through this moment and then kind of shake it off.”
Cockroaches in Southern California are having a rough few days as we experience a major heat wave down here, and the six-legged devil’s spawn dehydrate and freak out. Several have wandered into my abode in recent days, others are dead on my lawn, and even more are flying around looking for relief.
I’d like to claim that I would have been just as cool in the moment as Menitoff, but if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I could have held myself together. Those buggers just skeeve me out.
You deserve an A+, Rachel. Kudos.
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