# Eating salt competitively **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376 "2010-09-11T03:19:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/1 "2010-09-11T03:19:32Z")
Suppose there was a competitive eating contest, but instead of hotdogs or mayonnaise, there was just a giant bowl of salt. What’s the most salt a human could ingest in 10 minutes? How dangerous or fatal would it be to the competitors? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/2 "2010-09-11T03:33:52Z")
> [@](#): > > [Death](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death): Ingestion of large amounts of salt in a short time (about 1 g per kg of body weight) can be fatal. Deaths have also resulted from attempted use of salt solutions as [emetics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetic), forced salt intake, and accidental confusion of salt with sugar in child food. > **[Salt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt#Health_effects)** > > In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as rock salt or halite. Salt is essential for life in general (being the source of the essential dietary minerals sodium and chlorine), and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and is known t... ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/3 "2010-09-11T03:53:52Z")
[This](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thelope.com/images/06-09-27-358.jpg&imgrefurl=http://thelope.com/archive/2008_10_01_archive.html&usg=__EejgFxDuJGy6kaOvAiyHG5jEfBQ=&h=450&w=341&sz=61&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=9HZ9hgSkkiEedM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsylvester%2Bthe%2Bdesert%2Bmummy%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D579%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=124&vpy=49&dur=531&hovh=258&hovw=195&tx=117&ty=174&ei=MvyKTL3rNYbEsAPt_LHFBA&oei=EPyKTPjYGYn4swOjmcCRBA&esq=3&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0) guy is the current champ. He dethroned King Tut ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/4 "2010-09-11T04:07:05Z")
Fry: That’s the saltiest thing I ever tasted, and I once ate a big heaping bowl of salt. Bender: The salt level was 10% less than a lethal dose! ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/5 "2010-09-11T05:37:54Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Fry: That’s the saltiest thing I ever tasted, and I once ate a big heaping bowl of salt. > Bender: The salt level was 10% less than a lethal dose! Uh oh, I shouldn’t have had seconds… ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/6 "2010-09-11T06:41:44Z")
Once again, _[the Family Circus](http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2587/beach14.jpg)_ has already covered this ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/7 "2010-09-11T07:05:37Z")
But could a person will themselves to ingest a lethal dose of salt? Or would the body react to stop someone from doing so? ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/8 "2010-09-11T07:25:39Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > But could a person will themselves to ingest a lethal dose of salt? Or would the body react to stop someone from doing so? 5 grams of salt would be about a teaspoon. It would certainly NOT be easy for a child and almost impossible for an adult. ---
**Author:** ![dsmith42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dsmith42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dsmith42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/9 "2010-09-11T15:08:13Z")
I actually did something akin to this once. In my younger and much stupider days (college), I opened a one pound container of salt and poured it directly into my mouth. I am not sure how much there was, but trying to swallow it with saliva alone was impossible. Imagine the saltine cracker challenge, but with salt instead of crackers. I was literally chewing the salt, trying to generate enough saliva to get it down. Eventually, I had to walk down the hall to the water fountain so that I could swallow it. It was definitely more than a few teaspoons, probably more than a few tablespoons. I felt nauseous for hours afterward and drank a truly massive amount of water. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/10 "2010-09-11T15:14:41Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > > [@The\_Controvert](#): > > > > But could a person will themselves to ingest a lethal dose of salt? Or would the body react to stop someone from doing so? > > 5 grams of salt would be about a teaspoon. It would certainly NOT be easy for a child and almost impossible for an adult. A 200 lb man is roughly 90 kg. 18 teaspoons is only 0.375 cups. Easily doable, especially if dissolved in water, but still an extraordinarily bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/11 "2010-09-11T15:16:42Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > > [@The\_Controvert](#): > > > > But could a person will themselves to ingest a lethal dose of salt? Or would the body react to stop someone from doing so? > > 5 grams of salt would be about a teaspoon. It would certainly NOT be easy for a child and almost impossible for an adult. Yeah, so doing the math, it looks like about 5-6 tablespoons for an adult around 185 lbs, going by the one gram per kilogram of body weight rule. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/12 "2010-09-11T16:42:52Z")
Sooo… could you kill someone this way and make it look like a suicide? (Don’t need answer fast–just curious!) ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/13 "2010-09-12T05:14:45Z")
> [@dsmith42](#): > > I actually did something akin to this once. In my younger and much stupider days (college), I opened a one pound container of salt and poured it directly into my mouth. I am not sure how much there was, but trying to swallow it with saliva alone was impossible. Imagine the saltine cracker challenge, but with salt instead of crackers. I was literally chewing the salt, trying to generate enough saliva to get it down. > > Eventually, I had to walk down the hall to the water fountain so that I could swallow it. It was definitely more than a few teaspoons, probably more than a few tablespoons. > > I felt nauseous for hours afterward and drank a truly massive amount of water. I salute your can-do moxie, if not your judgement. “I was literally chewing the salt.” That’s not something many can say. I’m glad you survived. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/14 "2010-09-12T17:13:35Z")
> [@dsmith42](#): > > I actually did something akin to this once. In my younger and much stupider days (college), I opened a one pound container of salt and poured it directly into my mouth. I am not sure how much there was, but trying to swallow it with saliva alone was impossible. Imagine the saltine cracker challenge, but with salt instead of crackers. I was literally chewing the salt, trying to generate enough saliva to get it down. > > Eventually, I had to walk down the hall to the water fountain so that I could swallow it. It was definitely more than a few teaspoons, probably more than a few tablespoons. > > I felt nauseous for hours afterward and drank a truly massive amount of water. Out of curiosity, why in the name of sanity would you do such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/15 "2010-09-12T17:50:11Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > > [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > > > 5 grams of salt would be about a teaspoon. It would certainly NOT be easy for a child and almost impossible for an adult. > > A 200 lb man is roughly 90 kg. 18 teaspoons is only 0.375 cups. Easily doable, especially if dissolved in water, but still an extraordinarily bad idea. But doesn’t salt water trigger vomiting? How would you keep it down long enough for it to do its work? ---
**Author:** ![dsmith42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dsmith42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dsmith42)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/16 "2010-09-13T00:33:32Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > > [@dsmith42](#): > > > > I actually did something akin to this once. In my younger and much stupider days (college), I opened a one pound container of salt and poured it directly into my mouth. I am not sure how much there was, but trying to swallow it with saliva alone was impossible. Imagine the saltine cracker challenge, but with salt instead of crackers. I was literally chewing the salt, trying to generate enough saliva to get it down. > > > > Eventually, I had to walk down the hall to the water fountain so that I could swallow it. It was definitely more than a few teaspoons, probably more than a few tablespoons. > > > > I felt nauseous for hours afterward and drank a truly massive amount of water. > > Out of curiosity, why in the name of sanity would you do such a thing? I went to a club meeting at which there was supposed to be free food, but when I got there all that was left was salt. I wanted my free food (it was college after all). On the spur of the moment, I decided that I would take the only free food available. It was a very stupid decision. To contribute to the thread, I weighed probably about 175 lbs then. I couldn’t have eaten more than a 2 tablespoons. I did not vomit, but like I said I felt very nauseous and was guzzling water afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/17 "2010-09-13T01:56:05Z")
> [@dsmith42](#): > > It was a very stupid decision. I’ll say! 😉 There was an experiment done by the Nazis where they forced about 90 Roma prisoners injest to [nothing but sea water](http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/NaziMedEx.html) > [@](#): > > The Gypsies became so profoundly dehydrated that they were seen licking the floors after they were mopped just to get a drop of water. _shudder_ (Of course, then there’s the opposite – remember that radio station that held a contest to see who could drink the most water? One woman actually killed herself from drinking TOO much water) ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/18 "2010-09-13T10:39:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > (Of course, then there’s the opposite – remember that radio station that held a contest to see who could drink the most water? One woman actually killed herself from drinking TOO much water) If it’s the same one I am thinking of it was competition to win a Nintendo Wii. The contestants had to consume some amount of water (say 3 liters) and the winner was the person who could avoid going to the bathroom for the longest. The woman who won died from holding it in for too long, kidney failure or something along those lines if I remember rightly. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/19 "2010-09-13T11:02:09Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > If it’s the same one I am thinking of it was competition to win a Nintendo Wii. The contestants had to consume some amount of water (say 3 liters) and the winner was the person who could avoid going to the bathroom for the longest. The woman who won died from holding it in for too long, kidney failure or something along those lines if I remember rightly. Yup, it [looks like water intoxication;](http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Hold-Your-Wee-for-a-Wii-Costs-Radio-Station-Dearly-67345657.html) they had to drink as much as they could over time and hold it. Her level of consumption and body size were probably factors. [Wiki link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDND#Hold_Your_Wee_for_a_Wii_controversy) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376/20 "2010-09-13T14:05:04Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > But could a person will themselves to ingest a lethal dose of salt? Or would the body react to stop someone from doing so? I was dared to eat a spoonful of salt as a kid, and I _love_ salt, and I was very quickly puking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-salt-competitively/553376.md?page=2)