RT cockroach comes second in race

On Saturday, RT participated in a race.of sorts. A six-centimetre cockroach crossed the finish line second, with the wholehearted support of RTs Entertainment Team.

An African cockroach arrived in RTs office on Friday, courtesy of the the event's organiser, Knyazev Production Centre. The exotic insect eats almost everything, from vegetables to dog food.

The staff received the unusual visitor warmly: the cockroach was named Anton and treated with cucumbers, bread and sugar. Several hours later, Anton fully recuperated and was feeling well.

Madagascar people believe the creatures are very clever. Though when touched, they hiss at a stranger as a defence mechanism.

On July 7, Anton joined the race in a newly-built cockroach arena at Persona Grata Club.

The rules were simple – the race consisted of two rounds. The first one defines the three fastest racers, and the second stage declares gold, silver and bronze winners. The finish gold line must be crossed fully, then the box closes and the gun shoots, indicating the winner.

During the race it appeared that the RT new pet was actually not Anton, but Antonia! She showed excellent race performance, being among the first three to finish at the first round.

In the next round she came in second in spite of having run the distance thrice as long as the other participants – almost reaching the finish line, turning back and then again turning into the right direction.

Some of these smart creatures earn a lot of money for their owners. Believe it or not, cockroach races are quite popular in Russian casinos. Some cockroaches run for prizes worth thousands of dollars.

In this race, however, RT’s prize was a home bingo set for being second.

So, if you need any advice on training cockroaches, address RT’s Entertainment department.