November 26, 2002
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If you were at a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner and found a dead cockroach in your salad, what would you do?

I'd try to hide it in my napkin. And I'd leave my salad.

Judy, 62
Easton, KS USA

Eat it. Just kidding. I would scream, throw the salad bowl across the room and collapse in a sobbing heap.

Cindy, 41
VA USA

I would gently set it aside and not say a word. I wouldn't want to embarrass the hostess. Hopefully I hadn't already eaten a few.

Stephanie, 25
TX USA

Discreetly remove it and keep on eating.

Talia, 25
Redding, CT USA

I once found a dead caterpillar in my dinner when we had invited some friends round to dinner. It appeared to have come in with some broccoli. I didn't say a thing, partly to save my wife's
embarrassment and partly to avoid putting our friends off their dinners. I guess it must have been pretty sterile when it arrived on my plate. I've never mentioned it since.

David, 59
ENGLAND

Nothing. Just keep my mouth shut and not eat the salad.

Reba, 57
Gaithersburg, MD USA

Good manners would dictate that I quietly remove it. I probably would not eat any more of the salad.

Jane, 63
West Linn, OR USA

Freak out quietly. Imediately take her into the kitchen and tell her. Then she can tell the others. Then maybe throw up.

Keri-Jade, 23
Brampton, Ontario CANADA

Good grief...I respect coackroaches...their toughness and resilience...but give me a break...I mean, give me a break...what would you do?

Zeno, 31
Greece

I'd pull my friend into the kitchen and stategize with her on how to get the rest of the salads away from the other guests without totally grossing them out. Now, if dinner were at my sister's house, I'd probably just gag and make a comment about her fine cooking abilities.

Laura, 37
Lowell, MA USA

If it was a close friend, I'd toss it out and mention it to him or her later on in privacy. If it was a new friend, I would excuse myself and go toss it in the garbage and probably not say a word.

Fisch, 47
Preston, CT USA

Something similar happened to me before - I'd tell them straight away.

Aly, 17
Cardiff UK

If I were at a FRIEND'S house, I'd say, "Uh, dude, there's a roach in my salad." and laugh about it. If I were at a relative's or something, I'd be much more tactful but I'd be sure nobody ate the salad.

Doug2, 30
Overland Park, KS USA

I would tell him/her in private, there's a bug in my salad! I am very outspoken and all of my friends would expect it.

Melodi, 19
Gahanna, OH USA

A good 7 hours is perfect.

Tam

Politely not finish my salad. Wonder about the rest of the food. Pull the friend aside privately and gently let them know. Wonder about the rest of the food. Put on a happy face and continue the rest of the meal. What are friends for anyway!

Tracy, 24
Ocean City, NJ USA

To start with, I wouldn't be eating salad, so it wouldn't happen. Then there's the part where I
wouldn't be at anybody's house but our parents', and I should think our parents would understand that I wasn't going to eat a cockroach. Even if I went to somebody's house other than our parents', it would be someplace where such a thing wouldn't happen. But I would have to go with removing the cockroach. As for eating the salad, I don't know, because I don't eat salad in the first place.

Karen, 23
Ames, IA USA

I'd stop eating the salad and I'd look at each bite of the rest of the food before I put it in my mouth.

Cathie, 53
Novi, MI USA

Oh my goodness...that's a touchy one! I really don't know what I would do. I know I would feel bad and embarrassed for the friend. I don't know if I would quietly corner her alone and inform her of the "extra protein" found in her salad or if I would just inconspicuously remove it from my plate
and NOT eat the salad. Probably I wouldn't say anything. I hate to make anybody feel bad!

Tam

As long as it was dead I'd ignore it. If it was moving around, I'd belive I'd freak.

Janet, 45
E. Brunswick, NJ USA

Say nothing, act full. Leave a note when I leave the house that says what I found, makes light of it, and suggests either pest control or next time let's do it at my place.something friendly.

Firelady, 24
Frisco, TX USA

Mention it to her quietly and offer to clear and vet the other salads. I find this an unlikely scenario.

Jill, 61
Saylorsburg, PA USA

Very simple -- pick up the cockroach with a paper towel and dump it in the trash. I don't like bugs, and don't want to deal with them.

Jared, 0
Crestline, CA USA

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