Posted on 10/09/2012 9:23:17 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Man dies after live roach-eating contest in Fla.
MIAMI (AP) — A contestant in a roach-eating contest who downed dozens of live bugs and worms collapsed and died shortly after winning the contest in South Florida, authorities say.
About 30 contestants ingested the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach about 40 miles north of Miami. The grand prize was a python.
Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach became ill shortly after the contest ended and collapsed outside the store, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office statement released Monday. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities were awaiting results of an autopsy to determine a cause of death.
The sheriff's office said none of the other contestants fell ill.
"Unless the roaches were contaminated with some bacteria or other pathogens, I don't think that cockroaches would be unsafe to eat," said Michael Adams, professor of entomology at the University of California at Riverside. He said he has never heard of someone dying after consuming roaches.
"Some people do have allergies to roaches," he added, "but there are no toxins in roaches or related insects."
There was no updated phone number listed for Archbold in West Palm Beach.
"We feel terribly awful," said store owner Ben Siegel, who added that Archbold did not appear to be sick before the contest.
"He looked like he just wanted to show off and was very nice," Siegel said, adding that Archbold was "the life of the party."
A statement from Siegel's attorney said all the participants signed waivers "accepting responsibility for their participation in this unique and unorthodox contest."
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
In this frame grab made from video on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, and provided by John-Patrick McNown, Edward Archbold celebrates winning a roach-eating contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Archbold, 32, died shortly after downing dozens of the live bugs as well as worms, authorities said Monday, Oct. 8. Authorities were waiting for results of an autopsy to determine a cause of death.
Top of the world,Ma!
Roaches are filthy and carry all kinds of diseases. Also who knows what these live roaches did in his stomach.
File this one under “When Winning is Losing”
Ping
The reason he won was that he swallowed them WHOLE. The losers chewed them first. Think about it.
Contest sounds like WC Fields contest - First prize, a week in Philadelphia. 2nd prize, two weeks in Philadelphia.
Hold mah beer and watch this!!
Sure-fire Darwin Award Nominee!!
Thank you for pointing that out to us. And, I'd like to point out one other thing. Had he known the nutritional value of roaches and what constitutes a normal serving, the outcome might have been different. It seems that our government has, once again, failed us by not providing that information.
Hmmmmmm ... but whatever happened to the grand prize, the python? Was the snake awarded to the second place finisher? Or, did the python just slither away?
The runner up gets Monty.
that is one contest I would LOSE!!!
“At least he died doing something he loved.”
I laughed and laughed at your comment!
So let me get this straight.
He eats DOZENS of worms and LIVE ROACHES to win a prize, which is a SNAKE?!!!
Definitely a Darwin award winner.
Maybe he was just trying to follow the first lady’s new nutritional guidelines.
It ended badly.
You buy the propaganda that animals can not be bad and that humnans are the problem .This is from the same scientists that brought us the hoax of global warming. guess you belive global warming, Peta, greenpeace. don’t make me laugh.
roaches are filthy, bacteria is ALL around us , EVERYWHERE.
That sudden of a death was probably a heart attack and had nothing to do with what he ate.
Pyrrhic victory indeed!
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