DerbyCon Hackers Hold Memorial For Dead Cockroach Trevor Outside Louisville, Kentucky, Smashburger

When hackers are determined to start a trend, they will do it by hook or by crook. This was proved when a group of hackers started a memorial for a cockroach called “Trevor” after DerbyCon ended on Sunday in Louisville, Kentucky. As a result, “#TrevorForget” was trending on Twitter at 5:30 a.m. EDT, Monday.

DerbyCon is a cyber-security conference that takes place in Kentucky every year since 2011. However, more than the events during the conference getting recognition, a memorial set up by hackers outside a Smashburger near the venue where DerbyCon was being held, got more hype.

One of the speakers at the conference, Jake Williams, tweeted: “Imagine being a @derbycon speaker and finding out that @TrevorTheRoach got more press than your research... #TrevorForget”

It all started when a DerbyCon participant who goes by the name “Grifter” on Twitter, went to grab a bite at Smashburger. He posted a picture of a dead cockroach, explaining that he had found it swimming in his milkshake at the restaurant.

Twenty-four hours after Grifter’s tweet, Dave Kennedy, DerbyCon’s co-founder and conference organizer said that the Smashburger had temporarily closed their facility pending fumigation, following the incident.

However, hackers who were gathered in the town for DerbyCon had already made up their mind to make fun of the situation and hence started a small memorial in the name of Trevor, the cockroach, outside the entrance of Smashburger. After DerbyCon wrapped up, people, participants gathered across the street from the conference hotel at the local fast food joint to place some candles and flowers to kick-start the memorial.

Sure enough, more and more people joined in the mockery, adding food, liquor, tokens of various sorts, and notes of remembrance at the memorial set up by the hackers.

The memorial grew to the point where the hashtag “TrevorForget” started to trend on social media. Passersby stopped and took pictures of the hilarious memorial and posted it on Twitter, adding to the trend. People also used their innovative thoughts and creative skills to come up with a backstory for Trevor and memes to commemorate his untimely death. Here are a few of them:

According to CSO, even a couple of local police officers, who were answering a distress call nearby the memorial, stopped to enjoy the ridiculous memorial that had been set up for the dead pest.

However, when people started tagging local news channels, inviting them to cover the hilarious trend that had begun, following the folly on the part of the fast-food chain, Smashburger had enough. The authorities of the restaurant urged everyone to stop the craziness that was growing to viral proportions due to their lack of sanitation. However, Twitterati refused to listen to their pleas and continued with their mourning of the cockroach’s death.

Trevor, the cockroach, has his own Twitter account now, with the following Twitter bio: "I'm a roach, and grifter sucked me up a straw at derbycon. Now I'm dead."

Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness has granted Smashburger an “A” on their sanitation rating, a certificate that is proudly shown off near the entrance of the restaurant.