A 32-year-old man downed dozens of roaches and worms to win a python at a Florida reptile store, then collapsed and died outside minutes later.
Edward Archbold was among 20 to 30 contestants participating in Friday night's "Midnight Madness" event at Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach, authorities said. The participants' goal: consume as many insects and worms as they could to take home a $850 python.
据称,周五晚,这位名叫爱德华·阿奇博尔德的男子参加了当地一家爬虫宠物店举行的“午夜疯狂”比赛。比赛共吸引二三十人参加,生吃蟑螂和虫子最多者夺冠,奖品是一条价值850美元的大蟒蛇。
Archbold swallowed roach after roach, worm after worm. While the store didn't say exactly how many Archbold consumed, the owner told CNN affiliate WPLG that he was "the life of the party." "He really made our night more fun," Ben Siegel told the station.
在比赛中,阿奇博尔德把蟑螂和虫子一只接一只、一条接一条地往嘴里塞。店方并没有准确透露阿奇博尔德究竟生吃了几只蟑螂和虫子,但是店主本·西格尔告诉媒体,那天晚上阿奇博尔德无疑成为了万众聚焦的焦点:“他真的让整个比赛都有趣多了。”
Soon after the contest was over, Archbold fell ill and began to vomit, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said Monday. A friend called for medical help. Then, Archbold himself dialed 911, the store said in a Facebook post. Eventually, he fell to the ground outside the store, the sheriff's office said. An ambulance took him to North Broward Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
布鲁瓦德县治安官办公室周一表示,在比赛结束不到几分钟里,阿奇博尔德开始感觉不适,并且不断地呕吐。据宠物店在Facebook上透露,有朋友建议阿奇博尔德去看医生,随后阿奇博尔德自己拨打了911求助。但很快,他倒在了宠物店外的大街上。救护车随后赶到把他送往布鲁瓦德医院治疗,在医院阿奇博尔德被宣告不治身亡。
The Broward Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and are awaiting test results to determine the cause of his death.
布鲁瓦德医院已经对阿奇博尔德的尸体进行解剖检验,目前院方正等待最终的尸检报告,希望找到他的死因。
No other contestant fell ill, the sheriff's office said. "Very saddened by this. I mean, it was a shock," Siegel told WPLG. "Eddie was a very nice guy. We just met him that night, but everybody that works here was very fond of him."
据悉,当晚参加比赛的其他人都安然无恙。店主西格尔说:“我感到非常难过。这太令人震惊。爱德华是个很友善的人,我们那天晚上刚刚认识他,但大家都很喜欢他。”
Luke Lirot, who says he is legally representing the store, said in a post on the store's Facebook page that all participants "signed thorough waivers accepting responsibility for their participation in this unique and unorthodox contest."
宠物店法人代表卢克·利洛特上发表声明称,所有参赛者“在参加这个奇特诡异的比赛前,都已经签署了免责协议书。”
"The consumption of insects is widely accepted throughout the world, and the insects presented as part of the contest were taken from an inventory of insects that are safely and domestically raised in a controlled environment as food for reptiles." Lirot said.
利洛特在声明中称:“在世界各地,吃昆虫是一种被广泛接受的行为。这次比赛中选手食用的蟑螂和昆虫,都是在一个充分受监控的环境下人工繁殖的,本来用作饲养蛇,安全性有保障。”
In the wild, cockroaches are scavengers that pick up various bacterial organisms such as salmonella while walking through spoiled food, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene explains on its website. Cockroaches themselves don't transmit disease, though "many disease-causing organisms can grow and multiply in their guts and can then be deposited ... during defecation."
纽约健康心理卫生部门在其网站上解释称,在野生环境中,蟑螂是食腐动物,会携带各种细菌有机体,比如在爬过腐烂变质的食物时带上沙门氏菌。蟑螂本身并不传播疾病,但是很多病原体可以在蟑螂的肠道中生长繁殖,并在它们排泄时堆积起来。
Pharaoh Gayles was one of those who took part in the contest. He explained his reasoning to CNN affiliate WPTV. "Some of the snakes were pretty expensive," he said. "I thought if I could eat the bugs to get one, it'd be a good idea."
参加比赛的另一位选手帕拉·盖尔斯表示,他之所以参赛,是因为奖品太诱人。“他们店里一些蛇非常贵。我想,吃虫子就能得到一条蛇,这主意不错!”