A grasshopper can leap over obstacles 500 times its own height. In relation to its size, it has the greatest jumping ability of all animals.
In adition to being destructive, grasshoppers and locusts are also edible, and are eaten as food in several areas of the world. They may be ground into meal, dried, roasted, boiled, dipped in honey, jellied, or chocolate covered, as the ones I gave out as a prize in one of the Food Reference culinary quizes in 2001. Yum, yum!!
The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson, Kansas, was built in 1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar of the original building's foundation.
