Saltine cracker challenge
Encyclopedia
The saltine cracker challenge or simply the "saltine challenge" is a competition in which a person has 60 seconds to eat 6 saltine
s (also known as soda crackers), without drinking
anything; all the crumbs must be eaten too. Although the challenge sounds easy, it is actually very difficult, because the crackers quickly exhaust the saliva
in one's mouth. Even though six saltines can fit in one's mouth all at the same time, and a minute is plenty of time to chew, the resulting mess of crumbs resists swallowing
. One is not allowed to use any external liquid to aid in mastication.
lack the saliva necessary for even this many. Doctors may use this test, the "cracker test" or "cracker sign", to help diagnose the disorder.
A 1996 AP
story used the challenge to illustrate the competitive nature and persistence of Tennessee Volunteers
quarterback Peyton Manning
. Having been bet that he couldn't eat the six saltines, Manning attempted them one by one and failed; trying again, he stacked them on top of each other and succeeded. His roommate concluded, "Even something that was a joke, he was out to prove he can do it. He can eat six saltine crackers, and he did. He works out techniques he can do on everything." Before the 2001-2002 season, Penn State
Lady Lions basketball coach Rene Portland
's cracker-eating ability helped her land star players Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom. During a recruiting trip, the high schoolers' Amateur Athletic Union
coach mentioned the cracker challenge; Wright failed but Portland succeeded. Portland didn't reveal her technique, but she did comment on the competitive drive: "Obviously, there's a competitor in an old coach to say that 'I can do this.' If I can do childbirth three times, six crackers can't be that hard." Other athletes connected with the challenge include baseball coach Brad Fischer
and Derek Jeter
; a photographer challenged by Jeter observed, "Being competitive has become his way to relax."
The challenge has been televised on morning
news talk show
s. In a 2001 The Early Show
episode, Tom Bergeron
took a bet that he couldn't eat four saltines in a minute, and after attempting them all at once, he lost $40. Jane Clayson asked the staff member who had started the bet how she knew the challenge, to which she replied, "College." Indeed, several college newspapers have noted the phenomenon on campus.
In a July 2008 episode of Good Morning America
, Ted Allen
revealed that the Food Detectives
techs were unable to eat six saltines in a minute. All four anchors then tried it themselves — and failed. Weather anchor Sam Champion
compared the moisture absorption with lake-effect snow. Allen allowed his contestants to eat the crackers in any order, even crushed up; but when Chris Cuomo wanted to "load up with water" beforehand, Allen disallowed the tactic, as it unfairly bypasses the central problem. The group observed of the challenge's social context:
a tune. Such competitions are at least a century old.
A 1970s episode of the education
al television show ZOOM, which encouraged children to try creative puzzles and games using minimal supplies, featured such a race. Contestants in this version of the race ate three saltines and then whistled.
In Grafton, North Dakota
, there is an annual competition in which contestants must eat four saltines and then whistle. For nine years, it was won by Mike Stoltman of Minto
; a local legend has it that he benefits from an extra salivary gland
. Stoltman says that he requires two suction tubes at the dentist
, and of the gland, "I don't know for sure. But my orthodontist said he's never seen saliva like that." He was upset by Greg Shane of Oslo
in the 2009 running, possibly because Stoltman had been celebrating his 40th birthday.
The Saltine Challenge is performed as a bar trick to win bets. The secret to success lies in determination; the crackers must be grouped together strategically (often in three pairs), but the true key is to be unafraid of painfully swallowing large amounts of abrasive material.
Ambrose Mendy
set a world record for eating three Jacob's
cream cracker
s without drinking in 49.15 seconds on October 29, 2002. The record stood until October 2009, when Tony Knox completed the same task in 45.00 seconds.
of cinnamon
. Again, this is a small amount of a familiar food, but it dissolves poorly in the mouth, making the powder hard to swallow. Some challengees report that the cinnamon is especially unpleasant, and that its dust is comparable to pepper spray
.
At the other end of the volume spectrum, another related challenge is to drink a gallon of milk
in one hour — and refrain from vomiting
. One student columnist described the saltines, cinnamon, and milk as the "college triple crown". The main barrier for the milk challenge is stomach
capacity; milk is also more difficult than water because fat
and protein inhibit release into the small intestine
.
Saltine cracker
A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square cracker made from white flour, shortening, yeast, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations throughout its surface, to allow steam to escape for uniform rising, and along the edges, as individual...
s (also known as soda crackers), without drinking
Drinking
Drinking is the act of consuming water or a beverage through the mouth. Water is required for many of life’s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems.-Physiology:...
anything; all the crumbs must be eaten too. Although the challenge sounds easy, it is actually very difficult, because the crackers quickly exhaust the saliva
Saliva
Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...
in one's mouth. Even though six saltines can fit in one's mouth all at the same time, and a minute is plenty of time to chew, the resulting mess of crumbs resists swallowing
Swallowing
Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. If this fails and the object goes through the trachea, then choking or pulmonary aspiration...
. One is not allowed to use any external liquid to aid in mastication.
The individual challenge
For one-minute challenges, the six-saltine barrier is widely attested, but the challenge is sometimes posed using five or seven. Most people are able to eat at least two saltines without water, although patients affected by Sjögren's syndromeSjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome , also known as "Mikulicz disease" and "Sicca syndrome", is a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva....
lack the saliva necessary for even this many. Doctors may use this test, the "cracker test" or "cracker sign", to help diagnose the disorder.
A 1996 AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
story used the challenge to illustrate the competitive nature and persistence of Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association college sports teams at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mike Hamilton is the most recent Men's Athletic Director, but resigned on June 7, 2011, and Joan Cronan is the current Women's...
quarterback Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
. Having been bet that he couldn't eat the six saltines, Manning attempted them one by one and failed; trying again, he stacked them on top of each other and succeeded. His roommate concluded, "Even something that was a joke, he was out to prove he can do it. He can eat six saltine crackers, and he did. He works out techniques he can do on everything." Before the 2001-2002 season, Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
Lady Lions basketball coach Rene Portland
Rene Portland
Maureen Theresa "Rene" Muth Portland is an American former head women's college basketball coach known for her 27-year tenure with the Penn State Lady Lions basketball team. Her career resume includes 21 NCAA tournament appearances including a Final Four appearance in 2000, five Big Ten Conference...
's cracker-eating ability helped her land star players Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom. During a recruiting trip, the high schoolers' Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
coach mentioned the cracker challenge; Wright failed but Portland succeeded. Portland didn't reveal her technique, but she did comment on the competitive drive: "Obviously, there's a competitor in an old coach to say that 'I can do this.' If I can do childbirth three times, six crackers can't be that hard." Other athletes connected with the challenge include baseball coach Brad Fischer
Brad Fischer
Bradley James Fischer is a major league baseball coach who was most recently the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers...
and Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
; a photographer challenged by Jeter observed, "Being competitive has become his way to relax."
The challenge has been televised on morning
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
news talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s. In a 2001 The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
episode, Tom Bergeron
Tom Bergeron
Tom Bergeron is an American television personality and game show host, best known as the host of the ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars and host of America's Funniest Home Videos . He was also host of Hollywood Squares and a fill-in host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire...
took a bet that he couldn't eat four saltines in a minute, and after attempting them all at once, he lost $40. Jane Clayson asked the staff member who had started the bet how she knew the challenge, to which she replied, "College." Indeed, several college newspapers have noted the phenomenon on campus.
In a July 2008 episode of Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, Ted Allen
Ted Allen
Ted Allen is an American writer and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the American Bravo network's Emmy-winning television program Queer Eye. He now is the host of the prime-time series on Food Network Chopped, a culinary competition in which four chefs per episode...
revealed that the Food Detectives
Food Detectives
Food Detectives a food science show hosted by Ted Allen that airs in North America on Food Network. Ted Allen, backed by research conducted by Popular Science magazine, investigates various food-related beliefs, such as the validity of the five-second rule or the effectiveness of ginger as a means...
techs were unable to eat six saltines in a minute. All four anchors then tried it themselves — and failed. Weather anchor Sam Champion
Sam Champion
Samuel James Champion is the weather anchor of ABC's Good Morning America and weather editor of ABC News.-Early life and education:...
compared the moisture absorption with lake-effect snow. Allen allowed his contestants to eat the crackers in any order, even crushed up; but when Chris Cuomo wanted to "load up with water" beforehand, Allen disallowed the tactic, as it unfairly bypasses the central problem. The group observed of the challenge's social context:
The Food Detectives episode, number 6, aired in September 2008.
Ted Allen: "I'm surprised that we're testing this myth here, because it's normally done in the lunchroom of a grade school but..."
Chris Cuomo: "Close enough."
Sam Champion: "It's a similar environment, Ted."
Ted Allen: "It sort of is."
Competitive races
Older versions of the challenge include events where one competes to be the first person to eat some number of crackers and then audibly whistleWhistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
a tune. Such competitions are at least a century old.
A 1970s episode of the education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al television show ZOOM, which encouraged children to try creative puzzles and games using minimal supplies, featured such a race. Contestants in this version of the race ate three saltines and then whistled.
In Grafton, North Dakota
Grafton, North Dakota
-Education:The city of Grafton is served by the Grafton Public Schools system. The system includes Century Elementary School , Central Middle School , and Grafton High School .-Library:...
, there is an annual competition in which contestants must eat four saltines and then whistle. For nine years, it was won by Mike Stoltman of Minto
Minto, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 657 people, 269 households, and 185 families residing in the city. The population density was 458.9 people per square mile . There were 298 housing units at an average density of 208.2 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 96.35% White, 0.76%...
; a local legend has it that he benefits from an extra salivary gland
Salivary gland
The salivary glands in mammals are exocrine glands, glands with ducts, that produce saliva. They also secrete amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into maltose...
. Stoltman says that he requires two suction tubes at the dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
, and of the gland, "I don't know for sure. But my orthodontist said he's never seen saliva like that." He was upset by Greg Shane of Oslo
Oslo, Minnesota
Oslo is a city in Marshall County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 330 at the 2010 census.Minnesota Highway 1 and Minnesota Highway 220 are two of the main arterial routes in the community...
in the 2009 running, possibly because Stoltman had been celebrating his 40th birthday.
The Saltine Challenge is performed as a bar trick to win bets. The secret to success lies in determination; the crackers must be grouped together strategically (often in three pairs), but the true key is to be unafraid of painfully swallowing large amounts of abrasive material.
Ambrose Mendy
Ambrose Mendy
Ambrose Mendy is a Black British boxing promoter and sports agent. One of eleven children born to a British Mother and West African Father, Mendy was raised in East London. He was a precocious football talent who was on the books at West Ham until an early marriage put paid to his ambitions....
set a world record for eating three Jacob's
Jacob's
Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers. The brand name in the Republic of Ireland is owned by Jacob Fruitfield Food Group and in the United Kingdom it is owned under license by United Biscuits.-History:...
cream cracker
Cream cracker
A cream cracker is a flat, usually square savoury biscuit. It is similar to a matzo, but it contains yeast and is typically thicker and approximately 8 cm square...
s without drinking in 49.15 seconds on October 29, 2002. The record stood until October 2009, when Tony Knox completed the same task in 45.00 seconds.
Related traps
A close relative is the challenge to eat a teaspoonTeaspoon
A teaspoon, an item of cutlery, is a small spoon, commonly part of a silverware place setting, suitable for stirring and sipping the contents of a cup of tea or coffee...
of cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
. Again, this is a small amount of a familiar food, but it dissolves poorly in the mouth, making the powder hard to swallow. Some challengees report that the cinnamon is especially unpleasant, and that its dust is comparable to pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
.
At the other end of the volume spectrum, another related challenge is to drink a gallon of milk
Milk chugging
Milk chugging, or gallon challenge, is the process of consuming a large amount of milk within a set period of time. Although there are variations in procedure, many adherents follow to the mostly general parameters; a person is given 60 minutes to drink a full gallon of whole milk without...
in one hour — and refrain from vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
. One student columnist described the saltines, cinnamon, and milk as the "college triple crown". The main barrier for the milk challenge is stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
capacity; milk is also more difficult than water because fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
and protein inhibit release into the small intestine
Small intestine
The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...
.
Game Variations
Several people claim their version of the challenge is the "correct" one. This section will itemize the myriad variations of the challenge:- California Saltine Challenge - This version of the challenge requires contestants to eat 7 saltines within 60 seconds and then whistle clearly. The saltines dry up the mouth making whistling near impossible. No crumbs are allowed to spray out of the mouth when the whistle is attempted.