Florida Man, 32, Dies Shortly After Winning Pet Store's Roach-Eating Contest

[Silent_Bob]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/man-dies-eating-roaches-587314

A Florida man died Friday night after consuming "dozens of roaches and worms" during a contest held by a pet store, police report.

Edward Archbold, 32, collapsed after winning the repulsive contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store. Archbold, who was competing for a free python, was stricken outside the Deerfield Beach business, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators reported that Archbold "wasn't feeling well and began to regurgitate" shortly after the contest's conclusion. "He had consumed dozens of roaches and worms," a sheriff's spokesman noted.

Archbold was pronounced dead after being transported to an area hospital. An autopsy was conducted, and the Broward County medical examiner is awaiting test results to determined Archbold's cause of death.

Archbold is pictured above in a mug shot taken in 2004, following his arrest for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure (for which he was convicted).

The roach-eating contest was part of the reptile store's October 5 "Midnight Madness" sale. Contestants had four minutes to devour the most discoid roaches, which can grow up to three inches long. "Oh yeah, any vomiting is an automatic DQ," the store cautioned in a Facebook post prior to the revolting competition.

Another promotional piece referred to the upcoming event as "the soon to be infamous 'Eat Bugs For Balls Contest.'" The python for which Archbold competed is known to curl up into a ball as a defensive reaction.

In a Facebook update yesterday, the store stated that, "Although we just met Eddie the night of the sale, we all liked him right away. All of us here at Ben Siegel Reptiles are sad that we will not get to know Eddie better, for in the short time we knew him, he was very well liked by all."

Asked about the python won by Archbold, the store reported on its Facebook page that, "The snake is being held in his name and is full property of his estate."

[Free libertarian]

...something about this story bugs me.   

[Silent_Bob]

Fla. Man Choked To Death In Roach-Eating Contest

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/11/26/fla-man-choked-to-death-in-roach-eating-contest/

A Florida man choked to death after downing dozens of live roaches during a contest earlier this year in which the grand prize was a python, according to an autopsy released Monday.

Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach died as a result of "asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents," according to the report released by the Broward County medical examiner's office. It said his airway was obstructed by the roach body parts, which caused him to not be able to breathe.

"There is a flap called the epiglottis that is supposed to stop objects from going into the lungs," medical examiner Craig T. Mallak wrote in an email to the AP. "Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. In the video you could see him trying to swallow and breathe at the same time. We can't do both simultaneously."

Lab tests for drugs came back negative. The death has been ruled an accident.

Archbold died after downing the bugs as well as worms in the Oct. 6 contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami.

Messages left with the store's owner and his attorney were not immediately returned.

Archbold became ill shortly after the contest and collapsed in front of the store. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

About 30 people ate the insects, but authorities said none of the other contestants became ill.