Eating until you're uncomfortable is one thing, but taking on a stomach-busting food challenge for bragging rights is another. Weird food challenges have been popping up in mom-and-pop establishments for years, with the winners usually getting a t-shirt and their name on the wall.
While some food challenges are harmless (like flinging cheese at a baby), others are dangerous and can kill you. Here are the top 10 food challenges that are too ridiculous to try.
1. Wasabi Challenge
Wasabi: the fiery green paste that adorns plates of sushi and bowls of soba. The pistachio-green dollop of head-clearing heat has become synonymous with Japanese cuisine. But what many people don't know is that the wasabi most restaurants serve is not real, but rather regular horseradish with a little food coloring added.
The reason is that fresh wasabi has a very high failure rate, and growing it is a complex task. It requires a certain amount of light, a specific temperature and humidity and a special root that is not readily available in the United States.
Fortunately, preparing your own wasabi at home is easy and fun! Just wash the rhizome and trim off any bumps. Next, grate it into a pile and let it rest for a few minutes. Then you're ready to enjoy! You can also try incorporating wasabi into salads and soups, and even add it to the breading on grilled shrimp.
2. Pop Rocks Challenge
Until recently, consuming Pop Rocks was more of an exercise in fascination than danger. The pebble-sized candy would crack and fizze when warmed in your mouth, creating a bizarre and entertaining experience. Heston Blumenthal even suggested that Pop Rocks might work as an aphrodisiac.
But when this challenge appeared on Man v. Food, the host seemed less than impressed with it. In fact, this is one of his least favorite challenges ever (via YouTube).
The challenge requires participants to down a full pint of beer and three ounces of Pop Rocks within an hour. Those who complete the challenge earn a T-shirt and their name on the wall. This challenge ranks among the top 15 in America. That's a whole lot of bubbles to burp out.
3. Salt Arm Challenge
It's no secret that kids love to test their limits and partake in strange (yet dangerous) YouTube challenges. However, the latest fad that has them putting salt on their arm and then placing an ice cube on top of it is not only painful, but it could lead to serious burns and even frostbite.
According to WFTS, teens who participate in this challenge can end up with second-degree cold burns and a mark that looks like someone has sliced their arm open. This is because the ice cube melts into the salt, which lowers the freezing point of water and causes an immediate chemical reaction.
The director of the University of Iowa Burn Prevention Treatment Center says this challenge is "a chemistry lab on your arm." It's far from safe and should be avoided. It's also not worth the gruesome results, which can include scarring and even needing skin grafts.
4. Cinnamon Challenge
The Cinnamon Challenge is a viral Internet dare where participants try to eat a spoonful of cinnamon within 60 seconds without drinking any liquid. Typically, the result is a video of people gagging, coughing and even choking.
Although cinnamon is a natural spice and deemed safe for consumption by the FDA, it's not a good idea to try this challenge. The Cinnamon Challenge has caused many serious side effects like lung damage, breathing difficulties and even pneumonia.
The reason is that cinnamon has two properties that make it dangerous for your lungs. It's dry and hydrophobic (it repels water). The combination of those properties can create a perfect storm that irritates the mouth, throat and even the lungs. This could lead to scarring, inflammation and even a collapsed lung (like what happened to an Ypsilanti, Mich., teen).
5. Ice Cream Cone Challenge
Weird food challenges have been a staple at local mom-and-pop restaurants for years. Giant portion sizes and a competitive spirit have inspired people to consume exorbitant amounts of food in a short amount of time for prizes like t-shirts and their name plastered on the wall.
One such challenge, called the "Mount Olympus" burger at Clinton Station Diner in New Jersey, entails eating a 50-pound burger along with three other friends in a limited amount of time. It's enough to give you meat sweats, and the winner gets a free t-shirt.
Another popular food challenge involves throwing a soft-serve ice cream cone on your head. TikTok user Janelle Flom got the attention of Cherry Hill Ice Cream with her impressive throw in a recent video that went viral. The result: a messy and foamy forehead. It's not a good look for anyone, and it's probably not healthy for your skin.
6. Saltine Cracker Challenge
Saltine crackers are square soda crackers that are typically slathered with butter or used to accompany your favorite soup. While the crackers might be tasty, they are also dry and can exhaust a person's saliva quickly making them difficult to eat without drinking water.
The crackers are a popular food challenge that's been featured on everything from morning shows to YouTube. To complete the challenge, contestants must eat six crackers in one minute without drinking any water.
The restaurant that holds the challenge recommends spitting on yourself for a few seconds before attempting it to make sure you have enough saliva to swallow the crackers. It's also important not to drink any alcohol or caffeinated drinks before the challenge since they can dehydrate you. The winner of the challenge gets a free meal and their picture on the restaurant's website and social media.
7. Baby Cheese Challenge
A new social media challenge is making waves online that involves throwing slices of cheese at babies' faces and recording their reactions. The #cheesed challenge started at the end of February after Twitter user unclehxlmes posted a video on his account with the caption "just cheesed my lil bro."
His shaky footage shows a terrified toddler bracing himself as his older brother flings a slice of processed cheese into his face. The tweet has since been deleted, but not before it racked up more than 8.3 million views and 258k retweets. But is it really okay to throw food at babies? As experts explain, their higher-order cortical brains don't develop fully, so they don't have the ability to understand that a slice of cheese stuck to their face is not normal. That's why it's so cruel to subject babies to this challenge.
8. Lemon Challenge
A lemon challenge is the latest internet trend that's gaining steam. It's similar to the Ice Bucket Challenge that took off a few years ago and encourages people to donate to the fight against diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, or DIPG, an often-fatal form of brain cancer that affects children.
The step is simple: eat an entire wedge of lemon, post your reaction online, and challenge someone else to do the same. The challenge was started by 11-year-old Aubreigh Nicholas in hopes of raising money and awareness for DIPG. The movement has already been endorsed by Alabama football coach Nick Saban and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The two best friends behind the challenge are also attempting to set a world record for most bone marrow donors added to Be the Match's national registry within 24 hours. But nutrition experts say these types of challenges can be a red flag for disordered eating.
9. Ghost Pepper Challenge
Ghost peppers have a reputation for causing hiccups, watery eyes, and severe sweating. If that isn't enough, this chili pepper is also known to cause nausea and vomiting.
While spicy food challenges have been around for years (think chile pepper eating contests and restaurants that offer walls of fame for people who finish their extra hot dishes), it seems as though extreme dares involving extremely spicy foods are growing in popularity with teens thanks to social media.
The most recent example involves a 14-year-old boy who died after participating in a one-chip challenge involving a tortilla chip dusted with two of the world's hottest chili peppers, the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper. It's unclear if the boy was taking medication or had any other medical conditions that could have contributed to his death. His family has questioned the safety of these types of challenges.
10. 72-Ounce Steak Challenge
The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, is famous for its 72-ounce steak challenge. Contestants must eat a full steak dinner—plus shrimp cocktail, salad, baked potato, and a roll with butter—in one hour or less to win.
According to the restaurant, in 1960 founder Bob Lee held a competition over which of the cowboys working nearby stockyards could consume the most steak in an hour. When a cowboy swallowed not one, not two, but five one-pound steaks, along with the side dishes, owner Lee proclaimed that from then on anyone who could finish the meal in an hour would get it for free.
It’s fascinating to watch people attempt this challenge and cheer them on as they try to chug down the entire meal under a ticking clock. It’s also a great way to generate organic media coverage for restaurants.
