Goldfish swallowing
The act of swallowing live goldfish was a fad popularized in American colleges in the late 1930s.[1]
History
Although it is not clear how the fad emerged, various people have made claims. A 1963 letter to
The activity even prompted the establishment of the Intercollegiate Goldfish Gulping Association (IGGA), which sought to determine and enforce competition standards.[4] The last title on record went to Clark University's Joe Deliberto, who sucked down 89 goldfish.[5] Critics of goldfish swallowing soon emerged, such as a poem condemning the practice in the Boston Herald by Eva Williams Raymond[6] and the Society for the Prevention of Goldfish Eating, established in the spring of 1939.[7]
Although once widely practiced, the stunt is rare today, but has made appearances in recent entertainment. In 2000,
In 2014, Jack Blowers, a 20-year-old from the
Another possibility in the origins of goldfish swallowing comes from
According to the
Legislation
The stunt became so popular that Massachusetts State Senator George Krapf filed a bill to "preserve the fish from cruel and wanton consumption."[6]
Related activities and safety
Attempting to swallow other aquarium fish species besides goldfish can be very dangerous, because some of them (e.g. Corydoras catfish) have sharp spines that can become lodged in the throat.[17]
See also
- Panty raid
- Phonebooth stuffing
- Consumption of Tide Pods
- Flagpole sitting
References
- ^ a b c d e Meyer, Amelia (January 12, 2011). "1939: The year of goldfish gulping". National Museum of American History Behring Center. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Clark, Laura. "The Great Goldfish Swallowing Craze of 1939 Never Really Ended". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ a b "College Bros in the 1930s Were the Champs of Goldfish Swallowing". Ripley's Believe It or Not!. 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Albert E. Hayes, Jr. '42, Crowned New Champion Of Intercollegiate Goldfish Swallowers Yesterday" (PDF). The Tech. Vol. 59, no. 16. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1939-03-31. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ a b Weiss, Haley (2019-01-26). "This Is What Happens When You Drunkenly Swallow a Live Catfish". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ a b Burgheim, Richard A. (6 May 1952). "Goldfish Swallowing: College Fad Started Here, Spread Over World". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ a b Andrews, Stefan (2019-02-05). "The Hottest Challenge on 1930s College Campuses - Swallowing Goldfish". The Vintage News. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Steadman, Ian (11 February 2014). "How long can a goldfish survive if you swallow it?". New Statesman. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- ^ "Settlement reached in UVa swim team hazing lawsuit". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Withnall, Adam (2014-07-24). "Neknomination goldfish swallowing 'prank' sees 20-year-old Jack". The Independent. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Hermann, Adam (2019-01-10). "N.J. man who allegedly ate pet fish arrested after more than two years on run". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Seldon, Aja (2019-01-10). "Man eats ex-girlfriend's pet fish, sends photo with caption 'found your fish'". KRON4. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "Bizarre: Man accused of eating LSU student's pet fish, arrested two years later". WBRZ. 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "Not Funny Sleights --- Live Magic Fades". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. 2012-01-19. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 2021-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
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- ^ "Pretty Soon It May be Safe for a Goldfish to Go to College". Nashua Telegraph. Nashua, N.H. 1939-04-14. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "A Drunk Man Swallowed a Live, Venomous, Spiny Catfish. Here's What Happened". Live Science. 25 January 2019.
External links
- Goldfish swallowing at Bad Fads Museum
- College Fads from The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture