If you’re from the UK, or any of the Commonwealth nations, there’s a good chance the first thing you think about when you hear the word cricket is the sport. The rest of the world would probably think about something related to the insect that’s been a part of many people’s childhoods around the world, a pet in some countries and a lovely snack in others.
Probably the most popular cricket in the world is Jiminy Cricket, the externalized conscience of Pinocchio in the Walt Disney adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio. In the original book, the cricket was not called Jiminy at all, in fact, he was known as the Talking Cricket, or Il Grillo Parlante, in Italian. With the new name came an expanded role in the adaptation, so we really need to thank the people from Walt Disney for the beloved character.
Real life crickets, on the other hand, have been used as pets and a source of food for a long, long time. In China, crickets have been appreciated for their chirping for more than two millennia, and they were kept as pets so people could enjoy their singing. Later on, they discovered that crickets can also fight each other, which became a popular sport. A bit more to the South, people in Vietnam and Cambodia have been snacking on fried crickets for a while now. In the West, however, eating insects is still considered taboo, even though insect farming is being researched as a viable alternative to livestock farming. They are nutritious, and breeding them for human consumption might just be the next big thing. Still, most of people in the West who come willingly in frequent contact with live crickets are pet owners. Lizards, spiders and even chickens love to eat crickets, and they are sold in bulk to exotic animal enthusiasts and poultry growers alike.
When it comes to the little singing cricket, there’s always more than meets
the eye. A food, a pet, a food for your pet, a musician – all of these roles fit in the small, jumping insect. And it looks like, in the years to come, we’ll be thinking more about the humble cricket than we are used to.
