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Autopsy: Cockroach Eating Contest Winner Asphyxiated On "Arthropod Body Parts"
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 27, 2012
Modified Nov 27, 2012
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Edward Archbold, moments after winning the contest that cost him his life.
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 27, 2012
Modified Nov 27, 2012
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The autopsy results have been released for the man who died minutes after winning a live insect (and worm!) eating contest at a reptile store in Deerfield Beach, Florida last month. It's unclear how many cockroaches and worms Edward Archbold, 32, devoured during the contest, but he reportedly wolfed down "handfuls." Archbold appeared jubilant immediately following the contest—he'd just won a $850 python—but soon began retching and collapsed in the parking lot.
The Broward County Medical Examiner found that Archbold "died as a result of asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents." The autopsy cited "findings of airway obstruction by the arthropod body parts." Cockroaches belong to the arthropod family.
The Sun Sentinel reports that insect experts advise against eating live roaches because they're fraught with bacteria and have spiny legs. Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, associate professor of entomology at Montana State University, tells the paper, "It's like swallowing a fish hook."
Tagged
cockroaches
Edward Archbold
extreme eating
florida
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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