3 Seemingly Simple Food Challenges (That Are Actually Near Impossible)

In honor of Charles Barkley’s attempt to eat a piece of white bread in under 30 seconds, we started thinking about other seemingly doable food challenges that just can’t be bested. The challenges that seem easy on paper but result in failure for every cocky friend you goad into taking a stab at it. Here are 3 food challenges that seem like they’d be possible but can rarely (if ever) be accomplished by mere mortals.

1) Saltine Cracker Challenge

What it is:

The challenger must ingest 6 Saltine crackers in 60 seconds without the aid of any liquids or additional foods.

Why it seems simple enough:

That breaks down to one cracker every ten seconds, which should be an ample amount of time if you’re on top of your game. Plus, the crackers are tiny, thin, and generally unimposing.

However…

Although this challenge might be the most do-able of the three, the majority of people still end up coming out considerably short of the 60 second cutoff. Each progressive cracker dries your mouth out a little bit more until you’re left struggling to down your third, fourth, or fifth cracker and watching precious seconds tick away.

At least one online video asserts that 6 crackers in a minute can in fact be accomplished. However, other versions of the challenge have upped the ante to 8 crackers in a minute or 6 crackers and whistling a brief song. Either way, we say 6 is difficult enough.

2) The Gallon Challenge

What it is:

The challenger must drink an entire gallon of milk (2% or greater) in under an hour, and then refrain from vomiting for an additional hour.

Why it seems simple enough:

Sure, that’s an awful lot of milk, but you drink milk all the time. Plus, as long as you pace yourself over the course of an hour it shouldn’t be all that difficult.

However…

First of all, you’re fighting your total stomach capacity, and the average stomach can only hold around half a gallon. So right off the bat you’re playing from behind. However, if you do manage to get the entire gallon down, you can rest assured it’s likely to be coming right back up when the milk begins to curdle and expand in your stomach.

While there’s plenty of footage showing people actually winning the initial battle and downing the gallon of milk, we’ve yet to see anyone walk away from the experience vomit-free. Even the strongest competitors eventually keel over and graciously spew defeat all over the place.

3) A Spoonful of Cinnamon

What it is:

The challenger attempts to eat a tablespoon of cinnamon without the assistance of any liquids.

Why it seems simple enough:

Alright, this one doesn’t really sound pleasant by anyone’s standards, but it doesn’t sound impossible either. Just like downing a tablespoon of hot sauce, it’s not going to be fun, but if it means winning a bet you can certainly power through. Plus, as long as you get it all down right away you’ll be a-okay.

However…

The cinnamon instantly dries your mouth and causes a burning sensation you don’t have to worry about when you’re trying to scarf down Saltines. Your saliva causes some of the cinnamon to clump together, and any sort of coughing or gagging is likely to produce an impressive looking cloud of dust.

If you had enough time to kill, or a strong desire to get fired from your job, you could pretty much spend an entire day watching failed attempts online. But, why not put your time to better use and spend a few minutes coaxing a friend into eating a tablespoon of cinnamon instead?