Cricket-spitting

Cricket-spitting is a sport wherein contestants place a dead cricket in their mouth, and then spit it as far as they can. The contestant who can spit the cricket the farthest is declared the winner.

Cricket-spitting was developed in 1996 by entomologist Tom Turpin at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, as a competition for their annual Bug Bowl event, which brings over 30,000 people per year to their campus for a series of insect-related events and competitions. Since its creation, other universities have begun their own competitions, such as Pennsylvania State University who have hosted their own 'spit-off' since 1998. A Scottish spin off of Cricket-Spitting is Wasp Waving, where contestants throw frozen wasps at a target while blind folded.

World record

The Guinness World Record for cricket-spitting is 32 feet .5 inches (9.766 m) and is held by Dan Capps, from Madison, Wisconsin, and was set in June 1998 in front of a live television audience. Robert Tony Ferrell, from Hoopeston, Illinois, held the title/record in the 1997 Bug Bowl Games until upset by Dan Capps. Unofficial records of over 38 feet have been noted at competitions.[1]

Rules

Note: The ruleset is not fixed, and is subject to change or modification by organizations hosting their own competitions.

  • The crickets are to be brown house crickets (Acheta domesticus), weighing between 45 and 55 milligrams.
  • Crickets should be previously frozen, then thawed for the record attempt.
  • Contestants must spit within 20 seconds of placing the cricket in their mouth.
  • The distance will be measured from the center of the edge of the spitting circle, to where the cricket comes to rest, using a measuring tape.
  • Contestants must not step outside of the red circle they stand in.
  • The cricket must be fully intact, and held fully in the mouth before the contestant may enter the spitting circle.
  • The cricket must remain intact, and an official must check the spat cricket for six legs, four wings, and two antenna before the spit can be counted.
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References
  1. "Farthest Cricket Spit". Guinness World Records. 1998-06-28. Archived from the original on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-07-22.

See also
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