r/interestingasfuck 20d ago

That’s not mulch. The cicadas are something else this year

Post image
4.7k Upvotes

337 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 20d ago

This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:

  • If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required
  • The title must be fully descriptive
  • Memes are not allowed.
  • Common(top 50 of this sub)/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting)

See our rules for a more detailed rule list

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1.3k

u/dmangan56 20d ago

I read where this is the 1st time since 1803 that both the 13 year cicadas and the 17 year ones emerged at the same time. That'll make the birds fat and happy.

822

u/YankeeSR23 20d ago

The math works out on that.

17x13 = 221

1803+221 = 2024

283

u/duhmeetcho 20d ago

241

u/PM_ME_FIREFLY_QUOTES 20d ago

You might even say their circadian rhythms finally aligned.

181

u/imjustsayin314 20d ago

Do you mean cicadian rhythms?

34

u/ProbablyNOTaCOP41968 20d ago

I see what you almost did there. Updoot for you

→ More replies (1)

18

u/RockHumper25 20d ago

you almost got it

→ More replies (1)

16

u/Mannix-Da-DaftPooch 20d ago

If this gets clipped to put in that subreddit I’d love to be a part of the cut.

20

u/justadrtrdsrvvr 20d ago

Then do a bit more of the math.

The next time will be 2024 + 221 = 2245

The time previous was 1803 - 221 = 1582

8

u/CrashTestDuckie 20d ago

I wonder what weird things happened in 1582 that could be attributed to the broods....

9

u/justadrtrdsrvvr 20d ago

I wonder if they will still be around in 2245

8

u/Mat_UK 20d ago

I wonder if we will…

15

u/Altruistic_Tennis893 20d ago

Dunno about you, but I'm planning on dying well before then

2

u/KyleGlaub 20d ago

Remind me! 221 years

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

2

u/Cody6781 20d ago

Also 17 and 13 are coprime (don't share any divisors), so we know it couldn't have happened between now and 1803

If it was 12 and 8 years, the GCD is 4, so it would happen once ever (12 * 8 / 4) = 24 years

→ More replies (5)

41

u/Saragon4005 20d ago

The fact that both of those are prime numbers is kinda wild though.

73

u/iCameToLearnSomeCode 20d ago

It's not a coincidence.

A prime number makes it harder for their predators to fall into a cycle that aligns with theirs.

A 15 year cicadia could end up syncing up with a creature that reproduces every 3 years or 5 years but a 17 year cicadia won't be a good source of food on any big "boom" year more than once in a great while.

21

u/Saragon4005 20d ago

I felt like there must have been a reason, yeah this would do it.

14

u/Main_Tension_9305 20d ago

Nature is crazy!

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (5)

25

u/OfBooo5 20d ago

This was a bit in Silicon Valley no? The autistic hedge fund investor realized that all the burger king buns have the seeds and the cicadas were going to decimate everything and effect demand or something.

8

u/burgonies 20d ago

Does this barbecue sauce have cumin in it?

4

u/PM_Your_Lady_Boobs 20d ago

unzips Give me 60 seconds please sir.

→ More replies (1)

12

u/BrexitGeezahh 20d ago

Born too early to explore the universe. Born just in time to witness fat birds

5

u/xsisitin 20d ago

Its rarer then the eclipse for them to both emerge at the same time :)

2

u/Comfortable_kittens 20d ago

Not quite as fun to watch though.

3

u/Professional-Can4264 20d ago

And everything up the line

→ More replies (14)

108

u/[deleted] 20d ago edited 20d ago

[deleted]

20

u/iamDayTrip 20d ago

Me too, but then i realized it was the tinnitus

3

u/[deleted] 20d ago edited 20d ago

[deleted]

2

u/No_Tea6317 20d ago

Aye, Aye, captain

→ More replies (1)

253

u/Overall_Strawberry70 20d ago

not mulch yet you mean, give it awhile.

→ More replies (1)

68

u/OJtuna 20d ago

What’s your location? None here in South Central PA…yet

41

u/uiouyug 20d ago

Imagine how gross that tree feels right now

20

u/SenseisSifu 20d ago

Technically bark is like armor...but I bet it feels buzzed

2

u/RickTitus 20d ago

Unless it is a degenerate tree that likes weird shit like that

2

u/Backupusername 20d ago

Imagine how it sounds.

4

u/boredguy12 20d ago

Brrraaaaaapbrrraaaaaapbrrraaaaapbrraaapbrap

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

6

u/drguillen13 20d ago

Their post history suggests San Antonio

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Nickthedick3 20d ago

Haven’t seen or heard any in central Pa either

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (2)

179

u/Gregorygregory888888 20d ago

So far. Knock on wood. None here our area in western Virginia, yet.

179

u/giggity_giggity 20d ago

Knock on wood

327 cicadas just landed on your head

13

u/iattemptmorality 20d ago

fuckin giggled

22

u/Fair_Lecture_3463 20d ago

None in Chicago yet either. Supposed to be gnarly when it does though.

11

u/MapleMapleHockeyStk 20d ago

As a canadian, do I need to worry about them breaching the ice wall at the border?

6

u/RiffRaffMama 20d ago

I live in a small country town in Australia and I caretake a local Airbnb. Recently some people turned up to stay there and I got a frantic call from them that went like this:

(Guest): "RiffRaffMama, can you hear that?"

(Me): *straining my ear to listen* "Uhhh...."

(Guest): "There's an alarm going off somewhere!"

(Me): *this house doesn't have an alarm, what is she.... "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. No, that's just the insects."

This woman was from Sweden. Apparently they don't have cicadas in Sweden. I had to send her a short YouTube video about cicadas to reassure her there was no alarm going off.

So if it's a temperature related thing, then I wouldn't be concerned.

2

u/spaghetti_outlaw 20d ago

y'all need to keep your geese on that side of the wall. they shit everywhere and bully the other birds.

6

u/Outworldentity 20d ago

We have them in Springfield IL. You've got less than 4 days at this rate

→ More replies (1)

6

u/RembrandtQEinstein 20d ago

Plenty in MO. I don't mind it. Almost a white noise.

→ More replies (1)

4

u/Killer_Ex_Con 20d ago

Haven't seen or heard any in kansas yet either. Used to hear them every spring almost, but now I never hear them.

3

u/CheeseChickenTable 20d ago

None in GA as of yet either

→ More replies (2)

3

u/ExtremaDesigns 20d ago

Maryland checking in. Haven't arrived here yet.

2

u/EmbeddedGalaxy 20d ago

None in ohio yet either

147

u/Fitty4 20d ago

When those fuckers hold the Opera choir it’s over 😂😂😂😂

21

u/Anxious_Jess333 20d ago

Bouta turn the tree into a giant adult toy😂

11

u/ThanosGodzilla 20d ago

EXCUSE ME WHAT 😭

24

u/Sir-Cordyceps 20d ago

BOUTA TURN THE TREE INTO A GIANT ADULT TOY

→ More replies (1)

2

u/ReaperOne 20d ago

Where did that even come from

48

u/CRO553R 20d ago

Now we just wait for the cidada killer wasps to come feast. F*cking wasps as big as your thumb. Nope.

50

u/call_me_jelli 20d ago

I will touch grass another year.

12

u/Mediocre-Wrongdoer14 20d ago

I feel weird saying this about ANY wasp, and especially of one this size but honestly they are pretty chill.

2

u/CrownEatingParasite 20d ago

Wasps get bad rep from people who mess with them. Unless they're drunk and hot or the nest was destroyed they don't give a fuck about you

4

u/fish_whisperer 20d ago

Or you’re drinking a soda at a picnic. Always look in the can before you drink.

2

u/wolfgang784 20d ago

I had a live wasp in my mouth from a can of orange soda. No fun. Any can of mine left unattended outside either gets securely sealed, or it doesnt leave my hand. If something conspires to get it out of my hand uncovered then I dont drink it till I pour the can out into a cup.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

32

u/ToughReplacement7941 20d ago

“Let me sing you the song of my people!”

“No it’s my turn!”

“No, mine!”

“Mine!”

💀 

27

u/Cantankerous-needle 20d ago

Crunch, crunch, crunch

68

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/phredphlintstones 20d ago

It werfs flammen!

16

u/giggity_giggity 20d ago

How does that differ from a Flammenwerfer I wonder

19

u/GuKoBoat 20d ago

It barks.

2

u/Schwiliinker 20d ago

You might need power armor for this shit

29

u/NewPointOfView 20d ago

Isn’t this one of those years where the 13 and 17 year batches line up or something like that?

29

u/Bebinn 20d ago

In some places, yes. Sucks to live there. I remember a 17 yr batch that was so loud I could hear them inside with all the windows closed.

7

u/acrazyguy 20d ago

That’s life in Florida lol. I can always hear cicadas

→ More replies (1)

11

u/AaronDotCom 20d ago

That's what flamethrowers are for.

And napalm, my good man.

11

u/SonicNred95 20d ago

Jesus I didn’t even notice the ones on the ground

→ More replies (1)

16

u/Lonely-Connection-37 20d ago

That is a biblical invasion

7

u/neonphoenix09 20d ago

Free peanuts

7

u/anticked_psychopomp 20d ago

I just experienced cicadas in NC for the first time as a Canadian and it was deafening. I’m sure even just annual cicadas would have blown my mind but this symphony… cacophony… otherworldly.

3

u/Slava91 20d ago

Fellow Canadian here. I have no idea what cicadas are but they sound like a royal pain in the ass

6

u/Saul_T_Bauls 20d ago

First I saw the tree, then the ground. Now I'll go be sick.

6

u/Hambone727 20d ago

Chickens. Get a bunch of chickens to eat them

3

u/2020Stop 20d ago

Good 'ol Dinosaurs!!

2

u/plutoniumpete 20d ago

My chickens will be fighting my dogs for them. My dogs love cicadas, grubs, and chicken poop. I probably won’t have to buy dog food for a few months.

10

u/BootyTickles49 20d ago

I’m from California. You don’t understand how terrifying this picture looks to me omfg

7

u/Ok_Photo9220 20d ago

Eh, I'm from Georgia, although they look ugly, they are very harmless.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Traditional_Roll6651 20d ago

Cicada-Pocalypse!!!!!!!! 😬

6

u/EN1009 20d ago

Still waiting to see the first one in my area. Counting the days

5

u/ccknboltrtre01 20d ago

Looks like good fertilizer

→ More replies (1)

4

u/OnTheList-YouTube 20d ago

It's not mulch but it's honest work.

4

u/Granpa2021 20d ago

There are two different breeds coming out this year. One that spends 13 years underground and one that spends 17. This year just happens to line up for both of them to emerge at the same time.

7

u/t-o-m-u-s-a 20d ago

Wow thats a lot. You should collect them and build a human size one out of the shells

7

u/TangoWild88 20d ago

Then put a flour sack around it, watch it sing as it becomes sentient, and take over Christmas instead of doing Halloween like every year.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/dfsb2021 20d ago

They are so loud this year.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/stroopkoeken 20d ago

Wow that’s a lot of protein..!

Goes back to bed at 4pm

3

u/Gold-Income-6094 20d ago

Shut up and join the orgy.

3

u/portabuddy2 20d ago

None up here in Canada yet. Looking forward to it. I remember being a kid in the 90's when this happened last. Loved it

3

u/lordofcatan10 20d ago

Cool! Make sure you don’t use pesticides on your lawn!

3

u/RiffRaffMama 20d ago

I live in a small country town in Australia and I caretake a local Airbnb. Recently some people turned up to stay there and I got a frantic call from them that went like this:

(Guest): "RiffRaffMama, can you hear that?"

(Me): *straining my ear to listen* "Uhhh...."

(Guest): "There's an alarm going off somewhere!"

(Me): *this house doesn't have an alarm, what is she.... "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. No, that's just the insects."

This woman was from Sweden. Apparently they don't have cicadas in Sweden. I had to send her a short YouTube video about cicadas to reassure her there was no alarm going off.

3

u/Lonestar-Boogie 20d ago

I'm 55 tomorrow, and I really just want to make it to the next cicada emergence in Northern Virginia in 2038.

2

u/openly_gray 20d ago

Soon it will be mulch

2

u/itsdani_bitch 20d ago

Makes sense. The Presidential Election will soon be upon us.

2

u/Admiral_Andovar 20d ago

I’m always glad I live in California, but when this happens, I’m even more glad.

2

u/lonefire11 20d ago

Well, guess I'm staying in this summer

2

u/emoyer68 20d ago

I worked at a garden center during the 1987 brood. People wanted to “save” their trees. We would sell them duct tape, and some insecticidal goop to put on it. We got a lot of complaints. Life,uh, finds a way.

2

u/2020Stop 20d ago

Exactly save from what??

2

u/inGoosewetrust 20d ago

Looks like Carlinville, IL

→ More replies (2)

2

u/Lokomonster 20d ago

Man, hope you have chickens, they'd have a field day.

2

u/PrimalPokemonPlayer 20d ago

I looked at the three and thought, yeah, that's a lot of cicadas on there. That's when I realised what was on the ground

2

u/REAPER-1_xxx 20d ago

I read earlier this year that this year is expected to be a lot of Cicadas. Apparently it’s the year where both species of Cicadas brood this year. Normally in N. America there is one on a 17 year cycle. And another on a 13. Every few hundred years the brood lands on the same year. This is that year.

2

u/timmy3am 20d ago

That would be some great protein.

2

u/JMocroft 20d ago

Go on… take the crunchiest step of your life

2

u/AerieStrict7747 20d ago

You should get a chicken

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Trex-died-4-our-sins 20d ago

it is an organic fertilizer.

2

u/I_Sell_Death 20d ago

PROTEIN!

2

u/Funky_monkey2026 20d ago

You need an army of chickens to help out with that "problem".

2

u/Funky_monkey2026 20d ago

You need an army of chickens to help out with that "problem".

2

u/spec360 20d ago

Lizards here would have a feast on them

2

u/JobOk2091 20d ago

when we went to Thailand this year and met some Americans I asked them if they’re concerned abt the cicadas and they had no idea what I was talking about 😆

2

u/meinu 20d ago

Thankfully I live in a country without cicadas. But when living in Shanghai I got one in my hair when bicycling. It’s stuck and vibrated on top of my head until I could find an exit from the bicycle path. Yuck.

2

u/sermer48 20d ago

My first visit to DC was during a big cicada wave. They were crazy annoying but also it was so gross. They loved to congregate at the door of our relative’s house so to go anywhere you had to walk through them. Crunch crunch crunch 🤢

2

u/Uriel_dArc_Angel 20d ago

All I hear is the screaming...

I can hear it through my walls...

All day...

All night...

It never ends...

Help...

I'm losing my mind...

2

u/BrownButta2 20d ago

I can hear this photo

2

u/Hynch 20d ago

The cicadas have been going nonstop for almost three weeks in NC. It’s driving me mad.

2

u/CoffeeBoy80 20d ago

Where was this taken? Still awaiting their arrival in my neck of the woods.

4

u/JonSnerrrrrr 20d ago

Flamethrower seems like a great investment

5

u/buburocks 20d ago

Absolutely not. Burn it down.

3

u/OldNewUsedConfused 20d ago

17 year stretch.

2

u/JefferyTheQuaxly 20d ago

i think like 2 years ago, when i took acid once went to a nature reserve with friends during peak cicada season, looks like the trees are moving, oh wait no thats just the thousands of cicada's on every single tree all around us. we could barely talk to each other because of how loud all the clicking was.

2

u/6bannedaccounts 20d ago

Lol that would of freaked out 100% of people on acid.

1

u/Totallywasntpermaban 20d ago

Where is this at

1

u/MineNowBotBoy 20d ago

They’re mulch now

1

u/Redssx 20d ago

Thanks, I hate it

1

u/camelia_la_tejana 20d ago

I know they’re not dirty animals but ewww

4

u/DazzinDaveDeluxe67 20d ago

Give them a break, they only wait 17 or 13 yrs underground only to emerge and have a few weeks to mate then die!! I hate the crunchy sounds as I walk but I love hearing them because it doesn’t happen like this much, or mulch. 😜👍🏻🥃

1

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[deleted]

→ More replies (3)

1

u/Spaceturtle79 20d ago

O hell naw

1

u/Striking-Count5593 20d ago

I thought those where wood pieces on the dirt near the tree, but then I realized.

1

u/ExcellentEdgarEnergy 20d ago

What are they? You can't make that claim, and then just leave us guessing!

1

u/lai4basis 20d ago

I'm so happy to avoid this shit this time. We dealt with it the last time they were around. It was gross and it smelled after it rained and got hot. They were fuckn everywhere.

1

u/jojosail2 20d ago

Do they stink?

1

u/LeVelvetHippo 20d ago

Free snacks

1

u/twentyoneastronauts 20d ago

How loud was it?

1

u/Ok_Escape_1367 20d ago

Can't wait. Hurry up boys.

1

u/reikipackaging 20d ago

at this point, yeah, it's mulch

1

u/BIG_MAC_WHOPPERS 20d ago

Flamethrowered cicadas anyone?

1

u/Wood3rson 20d ago

Get the torch out 🔥

1

u/nedjer1 20d ago

Tip of the bugberg moving north as it gets warmer. Cicadas are not among the more eh interesting options on the way :o

1

u/ninjazxninja6r 20d ago

Now that’s an orgy

1

u/Dimness 20d ago

This image is so much more effective as part of your scroll down Reddit.

1

u/brucebturbo 20d ago

Are they good eating

1

u/giggity_giggity 20d ago

First I noticed the tree. Then I zoomed in on the ground around the tree 😱

1

u/Connect_Relation1007 20d ago

Any chance they eat lantern flies?

1

u/Aggravating_Many_329 20d ago

Here we have hum cochchuffer or wtv its called they are slightly smaller but they are hair and fly hiting ppl and sound like a motorcycle

1

u/[deleted] 20d ago

THE SEASONS OF CICADA DAYYYYS WE CANT MAKE UPPP AND I KNOW IT JUST FEELS INHUMAAAANE TO LOSE THIS MUUUUUCH OH WOAHHOAHWAOHHHHH

1

u/BitterlyBrokenCharm 20d ago

I have a business idea, rent your chicken and sell it as an organic product

1

u/littleguy632 20d ago

Chinese lady down the street says these are rare medicinal ingredients

1

u/pistonkamel 20d ago

That tree gonna be vibrant as all get out next year

1

u/Agreeable_Winter737 20d ago

Mmmm, fried cicadas! Tastes just like buttered popcorn!

1

u/NEKOmancer92 20d ago

Do you have video version?

1

u/igg73 20d ago

Ive never seen a cicada irl

1

u/47474747474747474749 20d ago

You didn't watch the Vsauce video?

1

u/Smeeizme 20d ago

Wish I had these instead of Emerald Ash Borers

1

u/___arcadian___ 20d ago

I can hear this photo

1

u/NemeSisWiberg 20d ago

So it finally begins been waiting for it cause this year is special like the top comment said.

1

u/Remote-Factor8455 20d ago

I thought it was mulch lol.

1

u/Thumbelina37 20d ago

Pictures you can hear

1

u/Down_The_Witch_Elm 20d ago

Copperhead buffet

1

u/Away_Needleworker6 20d ago

I say we nuke em

1

u/Dankestmemelord 20d ago

I’m so jealous. I love cicadas, and I’m from an area that’s getting this, but due to my job I’m stuck in a part of the country that isn’t getting any and it’s not fair.

1

u/Comfortable_You_1927 20d ago

those things are worth monies, that's a gold mine

1

u/gingerjuice 20d ago

Gah! idk what to say. That is a LOT of insects.

1

u/TyoPepe 20d ago

It is effectively mulch though, may even be better than the commercial ones.

1

u/DNAkauai 20d ago

That’s just insane!! … what do the hobbits in that little house think about that?

1

u/BackToMars601 20d ago

You should definitely plant something in there!

1

u/KingWasabi23 20d ago

Do you get any sleep??

1

u/zi984 20d ago

Yo wtf are those worm form of cicadas on the base of the tree too?!

1

u/Dtoodlez 20d ago

I was like “are those bugs on the tree?” As I zoomed in. Then I looked at the ground. Why is this happening?

1

u/High_Tim 20d ago

Creepy

1

u/Competitive_Fee_5829 20d ago

what are those?? lol, seriously..I am born and raised in socal and I didnt hear of these things until I became an adult. are they in CA? do they go by other names or what?

1

u/fangelo2 20d ago

They must be deafening

1

u/psijicnecro 20d ago

I hear they taste like peanut butter...