From campaign funds to a “Beatles” concert, this viral cockroach monument is hard to suppress

For most people, cockroaches don't have a reputation worth remembering. However, at an apartment complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee, tenants thought the death of a cockroach was worthy – so much so that their attempts to honor it went viral.

Jessie Bettis, known as @heyjessieyy, shared the cockroach's memorial to TikTok for the first time on September 15. Her post includes a slideshow of photos showing the evolution of the insect's monument, thanks to the neighbors in her apartment who gradually added to it.

The first image is a recognizable scene for many who live or have lived in an apartment: a dead cockroach on its back in the hallway, its legs bent inward, its shiny brown wings spread. One difference, however, is the makeshift paper tombstone above the cockroach that reads “RIP.”

Speaking to TODAY.com, Bettis, 29, recalled laughing when she first discovered the dead cockroach and its gravestone in the hallway outside the fourth-floor apartment where she lived.

“Every time I came back from my room, more things came along. I don’t know who added what,” she explains.

The monument initially grew with small items such as tiny stones and touches of greenery. Then, over the next few days, larger and larger statements appeared, such as a poster that said “Wanted: First Degree Murder” with a reward.

Things escalated from there, with a “Vote for Mayor” sign promising to curb crime, an invitation to a Beatles memorial concert, and a tiny coin cup marked “campaign donations.”

Bettis says that while she had a general idea of ​​who contributed certain pieces to the cockroach monument, she didn't talk much about the hallway project with the other tenants.

“(My neighbors and I) never really talked about it, though. Whenever we passed by or saw anyone, we didn't even mention the cockroach. It was just this little monument on the ground…It felt like it would disappear when we talked about it.”

Bettis decided to share the visual series of events on TikTok with the caption: “When a cockroach died in the hallway of my building and the reactions from people on my floor became more and more confusing.”

The rest is viral history: The post has 8.1 million views, 1.5 million likes and over 4,000 comments.

“This is what community is all about,” one user replied to the post.

“The Beatles performance fascinated me. All I know is they were giggling like crazy when they wrote that,” another replied.

“Cockroaches are my biggest fear but this is funny lol,” another added.

Eventually the cockroach and its monument were removed, but the obsession with the post continues on social media.

“I was so surprised that it went viral so quickly,” Bettis says. “I never expected something so simple and fun to explode like this.”

As for why the death of a cockroach became so popular on social media, Bettis believes it's more about the simple, shared humor than the insect itself.

“It's a difficult time right now, so anything simple and fun really resonates with a lot of people,” she explains. “Some people don’t like that kind of humor, but for many people it’s special.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com