# Man dies after winning Roach Eating Contest **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167 "2012-10-09T02:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/61 "2012-10-10T20:28:29Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > [hijack] Gonna hit you both up for our next fundraiser. [/hijack] Funds for what, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/62 "2012-10-10T20:33:34Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Funds for what, exactly? Animal welfare - native wildlife. I was just continuing the joke, but feel free to PM me if you seriously want details šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/63 "2012-10-11T03:48:34Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > [hijack] Gonna hit you both up for our next fundraiser. [/hijack] > [@CannyDan](#): > > Animal welfare - native wildlife. > > I was just continuing the joke, but feel free to PM me if you seriously want details šŸ™‚ [continuing hijack] To be fair, when I said ā€œeventā€, I really meant fundraiser. Hereā€™s my ā€œAsk the guy..ā€ [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591577)about it the community garden/food back Iā€™ve run fundraisers for. Hmm. Iā€™m swamped for the rest of October, but maybe there are enough of us to have a mini-dopefest, and we can chat nature and charity. [/continuing hijack] ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/64 "2012-10-11T13:12:14Z")
**Digital** , organize away! Local dopers beware, we may actually meet up IRL! (Can there be an alcoholic component?) OK, sorry, end of hijack. Still waiting for the medical examiner to report on the cause of death. I suspect ā€œate too much too fastā€ rather than "eww ā€“ _roaches!!"_ ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/65 "2012-10-11T13:20:47Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > For the medical examinerā€™s sake, I hope he did. Unfortunately I fear only some of the roaches were puked up, leaving the poor doctor to inventory stomach contents of dismembered roaches and worms. Might be a medical examinerā€™s dream come true. [Dr. Mallard] Mr Palmer, did you know that roach in latin means ā€œlittle fiesty oneā€? This reminds me of a fasinating similar case during the time I was in North Africa with the French Foreign Legionā€¦ [Ducky] The Year 2052 [Dr. Palmer] Ms Jones. Did you know that roach in latin means ā€œlittle fiesty oneā€? I learned that years ago from my mentor Dr. Mallard. We called him Ducky though. Well, not me, I still called him Dr. Mallard. We had a case just like this back in I think 2012 or so. And that was the year the Myans said the world was going to end. Anyway Duckyā€™s mother had these nasty little Yorkies and one timeā€¦waitā€¦ have I told you this story before?..[Golfer] ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/66 "2012-10-11T13:28:31Z")
> [@Vita\_Beata](#): > > Remember the Montana man who was struck and killed while dressed up like Bigfoot? Consider the possibility of an afterlife where these folks meet and discuss their final earthly adventures. šŸ˜ƒ I donā€™t have to. Someone has already made a show based on this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e3wXsf443PM/hqdefault.jpg "Horrible Histories - Stupid Deaths - Countess Of Coventry") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3wXsf443PM) šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/67 "2012-10-12T20:36:23Z")
Personally, I think anyone who eats a handful of roaches dies a littleā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/68 "2012-10-12T22:23:37Z")
Someone went from being the life of the party to being the death of the party! ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/69 "2012-10-12T22:29:53Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > Arenā€™t there, like, 50,000 pythons roaming free in Florida? > > A net, a small child and an overnight trip and voila! Free snake, without doing anything disgusting. Srsly??? Oh goody gumdrops! There are FIFTY-THOUSAND FREEEEE pythons roaming in Florida? OMG, I know where Iā€™m going to take my next vacation! I have to talk my dad into letting me borrow his pick-up (the one we sold hot tomales from). Ooh I now have an idea for my next question of the week: ā€œHow does one capture pythons and sell them on the black market?ā€ I am convulsing in pleasure! ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/70 "2012-10-12T22:34:41Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Srsly??? > > Oh goody gumdrops! > > There are FIFTY-THOUSAND FREEEEE pythons roaming in Florida? > > OMG, I know where Iā€™m going to take my next vacation! I have to talk my dad into letting me borrow his pick-up (the one we sold hot tomales from). > > Ooh I now have an idea for my next question of the week: ā€œHow does one capture pythons and sell them on the black market?ā€ > > I am convulsing in pleasure! There are plenty of pythons, that is true. The problem with your scheme is that there is no market, black, gray or white. Or not a sufficient market to provide you with any significant profit. Once it was discovered how easy it is to breed these snakes in captivity, literally everybody did it. This resulted in a market crash, and lots of excess pythons. While some did surely ā€˜escapeā€™, others as surely were dumped as valueless and requiring vast quantities of food to maintain. Maybe you can make a profit from python hides though. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/71 "2012-10-13T01:06:39Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Maybe you can make a profit from python hides though. Iā€™m thinking a .22 to the head and making friends with a boot maker. Yes, Iā€™d be pissed off if someone said that about killifish, but we are talking about fucking\* snakes\*, for Christ sake. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/72 "2012-10-13T01:42:03Z")
Iā€™m a pretty good shot, but I canā€™t imagine a .22 being very efficient for taking killifish. For snakeheads, maybe. šŸ™‚ Python brains are really small. You can plug quite a few holes in the head of a 12 foot Burmese python and basically just piss it off. Waste of ammunition. One good chop with a machete does the trick. I speak from experience. State fish and wildlife commission is certifying people to conduct ā€œcontrolā€ on these snakes. Feel free to apply for the permit. Itā€™s good outdoor work, youā€™ll see some neat places both suburban and wild, and meet some interesting people. Me, I sit back and wait for these snakes to come to me. Usually as ā€œsurrendersā€ from people who no longer want to keep their now-illegal pet. Iā€™m one of a diminishing number of folks who hold permits to have live individuals of this (and a few other) problematic species. In Florida, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/73 "2012-10-13T02:11:48Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Iā€™m a pretty good shot, but I canā€™t imagine a .22 being very efficient for taking killifish. For snakeheads, maybe. šŸ™‚ > > Python brains are really small. You can plug quite a few holes in the head of a 12 foot Burmese python and basically just piss it off. Waste of ammunition. One good chop with a machete does the trick. I speak from experience. The impact of a .22 would probably take out the killies. I donā€™t want to get that close to a snake. The copperhead moving from the pump house to my Wifeā€™s carā€¦I had a .45 pistol. Hit him the first time, but when he started his death throes and the above Ex-wife began screaming, it took most of the rest of the mag to hit him again, and that was one that just got close enough to his tiny brain. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/74 "2012-10-13T03:08:44Z")
Thatā€™s the problem with snakes, they have a relatively primitive response to physical damage. All that flailing can continue for some time, possibly the origin of the old myth that a snake ā€œwonā€™t die until sundownā€. Especially with venomous ones like your copperhead, best just to leave them alone. But if someone wanted to harvest pythons, a quick chop that severs the spinal cord will do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/75 "2012-10-13T15:51:48Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Especially with venomous ones like your copperhead, best just to leave them alone. Had I known that she would soon be my Ex, I would have. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/76 "2012-10-13T15:57:22Z")
Any word about what caused his death? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/77 "2012-10-13T16:00:55Z")
Bad bug going around. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/78 "2012-10-13T16:27:01Z")
Win! ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/79 "2012-10-14T00:24:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The regurgitation must have been something to see, what with all the roaches scurrying madly out of the puddle. And I had to stop chewing my gum after that postā€¦ šŸ˜› (no puking smiley) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167/80 "2012-10-14T16:09:56Z")
Iā€™ve eaten inscts, and though I wouldnā€™t recommend them, at least they taste better then Mushy Peas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/637167.md?page=5)