Mollys Dad Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/08/14303438-florida-man-dies-after-winning-cockroach-eating-contest?lite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 No words except: WTF and Ew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 You forgot to add 'idiot' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 read this today at work - and shuddered ew ew ew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 The title is a warning on its own - do not read while eating dinner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val (Zebedee) Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 What kind of store gets people eating insects to win another animal?? Crazy .... and he certainly was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted October 13, 2012 Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 I read about this on my local newspaper's front page EWWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 News update: It could be weeks before autopsy results can determine why a 32-year-old Florida man collapsed and died after winning a cockroach-eating contest. Insect experts say the mere act of eating roaches, while repulsive to many, shouldn’t have killed Edward Archbold. Some theorize Archbold may have had an allergic reaction. Archbold ate more than 60 grams of meal worms, 35 three-inch-long “super worms” and part of a bucket full of discoid roaches to win the “Midnight Madness” bug-eating competition Friday night at Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami, according to The Miami Herald. The take-home grand prize was a python from the reptile shop. Shortly after winning the contest, Archbold became ill and began to vomit, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said. He collapsed in front of the store and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner's office said Tuesday that it has sent samples of Archbold's remains for testing, but results are not expected for another week or two. “We know cockroaches shed a lot of allergens, but they’re not toxic in and of themselves,” Bill Kern, a professor of entomology at the University of Florida, told The Miami Herald. “Very few [human] cultures tend to eat cockroaches because they store large amounts of uric acid and nitrogenous waste. And they tend to be scavengers and feed on things most people wouldn’t consider to be desirable.” Mike Tringale, vice president of external affairs at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, told The Associated Press it's possible that Archbold "hit his tolerance level to cockroach allergens" and went into anaphylactic shock. Tringale said that such a severe reaction to cockroaches is "probably rare," however. Coby Schal, a North Carolina State University entomologist, also surmised that the death was likely an allergic response, "but there is always a possibility that cockroaches do carry bacteria, but the response won't be immediate. It would take time for bacteria to be a problem." Michael Adams, professor of entomology at the University of California at Riverside, says he's never heard of someone dying after consuming roaches. "Unless the roaches were contaminated with some bacteria or other pathogens, I don't think that cockroaches would be unsafe to eat," Adams told the AP. "Some people do have allergies to roaches, but there are no toxins in roaches or related insects." The Broward County medical examiner's office said Tuesday it has sent samples of Archbold's remains for testing, but results are not expected for another week or two. All the contestants in the bug-eating competition had signed a waiver acknowledging the risks of illness, adverse reactions and injury associated with eating live insects, the store said. The live discoid roaches were brought out for the final round of the contest. Luke Lirot, an attorney representing Ben Siegel, the store’s owner, told the Herald that the roaches, which are sold as reptile feed, are “raised in a sterile container from the time they’re little critters" and are perfectly safe to eat. One contestant, Matthew Karwacki, 26, who won a lesser platinum ball python in the cricket-eating contest, said he ate one roach before tapping out. “The taste did not suit me, but the texture for sure was the worst part,” Karwacki told the Herald. “If you could look inside a dirty gutter and scoop up what’s in there, that’s what went through my head. All the other contestants kept eating roaches, but I had to look away.” Sarah Bernard, an entomology student at the University of Florida, shot cellphone video of Archbold during the competition. Bernard said she did not see Archbold immediately after the competition ended. She recalled that an announcer said "the winner was vomiting somewhere, and we'll congratulate him when he comes back," according to the AP. Ben Siegel Reptile Store said the prize python, reportedly worth $850, will go to Archbold's estate. Archbold's co-workers at Busch Canvas, which does canvas work for yachts and restaurants, have set up a fund for his daughter, who will turn 7 years old next week, the Palm Beach Post reported. Archbold’s death has officials at Six Flags Great America in Chicago reviewing whether to continue with its “Friday Night Feast,” a weekly contest that invites guests to eat five Madagascar hissing cockroaches, the Chicago-Sun-Times reported. “We were sorry to learn about the unfortunate incident at the reptile store in Florida and our hearts go out to the gentleman’s friends and family,” park officials said Tuesday, according to the Sun-Times. “We are confident our eating contests are safe as the insects we use are raised specifically for human consumption. Insects are considered a delicacy in many cultures; however, even though this appears to be an isolated incident, we are reviewing the eating contests at our parks to ensure we maintain a safe environment for our guests.” ...But still - EWWWW!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 awwww i feel really sorry for his daughter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 awwww i feel really sorry for his daughter Agreed - poor girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hissing cockroaches :eek: We have these at school. They're not what you could call very tasteful looking when you have them walking on your hand. Or just to watch for that matter. Don't have a photo of them at scale but here's one I found on the web. Bon appetit I suppose: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 eww my teacher said "western countries have very large cockroaches" now I know what he's referring to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hissing cockroaches :eek: We have these at school. They're not what you could call very tasteful looking when you have them walking on your hand. Or just to watch for that matter. Don't have a photo of them at scale but here's one I found on the web. Bon appetit I suppose: [ATTACH=CONFIG]62262[/ATTACH] Horrid creatures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollys Dad Posted October 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 eww my teacher said "western countries have very large cockroaches" now I know what he's referring to! Thankfully I have never seen them outside of a zoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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