Goldfish Challenge

[Klaudia Aricas]

Theactivity even prompted the establishment of the Intercollegiate Goldfish Gulping Association (IGGA), which sought to determine and enforce competition standards.[4] The last title on record went to Clark University's Joe Deliberto, who sucked down 89 goldfish.[5] Critics of goldfish swallowing soon emerged, such as a poem condemning the practice in the Boston Herald by Eva Williams Raymond[6] and the Society for the Prevention of Goldfish Eating, established in the spring of 1939.[7]

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, goldfish swallowing was such a craze at universities during the early 20th century that it made appearances in several news publications, including The New York Times and the Washington Post.[1] An article in April 1939 in the Los Angeles Times called it goldfish gulping and showed a photo of someone mid-act.[1] According to The Nashua Telegraph, a dance mimicking the goldfish gulping fad was also introduced among students, termed "doing the goldfish".[8]

Another possibility in the origins of goldfish swallowing comes from Chicago bartenders, most notably Matt Schulien (who performed magic while tending bar at his family's restaurant). He would cut up carrots to look like goldfish tails. When performing the stunt, bartenders like Schulien would reach into a bowl of goldfish kept behind the bar while palming the carrot piece, placing that in between their pursed lips, using their tongues to lever it up and down to mimic the actions of a live fish, finally swallowing the carrot piece.[9] The trick dates back to the 1920s, and some people believe that the fad could have been started by college students fooled by the trick.[7][10]

Although once widely practiced, the stunt is rare today, but has made appearances in recent entertainment. In 2000, Jackass star Steve-O swallowed a live goldfish, only to regurgitate it moments later.[11] It even evolved into an Internet challenge called "The Goldfish Challenge", not to be confused with the challenge involving Goldfish crackers, which earned the disapproval of PETA, citing evidence that the practice caused the animals "needless pain".[2] Additionally, according to The Atlantic, goldfish gulping had become a "fixture of collegiate hazing rituals", and regularly listed as offenses in lawsuits against fraternities and sports teams,[5] notably a lawsuit against five upperclassmen and an additional member of a former swim team in the University of Virginia.[12]

In 2014, Jack Blowers, a 20-year-old from the United Kingdom was fined 200 and banned from owning pet animals for a year by the RSPCA for gulping down two goldfish, both of which survived, alongside aquarium water, fish food, and gravel as part of a Neknomination video on Facebook.[13] In 2019, a 21-year-old New Jersey man was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals, improper telephone communications, and being a fugitive from justice for more than 26 months[14] after allegedly swallowing his ex-girlfriend's goldfish in her dorm room at Louisiana State University and sending a photograph of his feces, with the caption, "Found your fish".[15] In October 2020, the LSU goldfish incident was expunged from his record.[16]

Attempting to swallow other aquarium fish species besides goldfish can be very dangerous, because some of them (e.g. Corydoras catfish) have sharp spines that can become lodged in the throat.[17]

NORWALK, Conn., April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Campbell Snacks announced today the Goldfish #GoForTheHandful Challenge on TikTok. The challenge kicks off a new consumer campaign aimed at an older audience for Goldfish and features NBA stars, and real-life best friends, Boban Marjanovic and Tobias Harris.

The Goldfish #GoForTheHandful TikTok Challenge asks consumers to duet with Boban to see if their handful of Goldfish can keep up with some of the biggest hands in basketball. TikTok users will need to get creative if they want to win, the 7'4" tall Marjanovic holds 301 crackers in a single handful! Participants can post their videos to TikTok with the hashtags #GoForTheHandful and #Contest for a chance to win. The 25 most creative videos will be awarded a special edition autographed "Boban Size" giant bag of Goldfish crackers. One lucky TikToker will be made the official "Spokeshand" of Goldfish, winning free Goldfish crackers for a year and appearing in future social media content from the brand. The challenge begins Tuesday, April 6 and continues through April 25.

"We like to think there's no friendlier snack than Goldfish, our crackers literally smile, so we loved the idea of reuniting basketball best friends Tobi and Bobi for the campaign," said Janda Lukin, Chief Marketing Officer for Campbell Snacks. "The inspiration for the challenge came from the insight that 40 percent of Goldfish crackers are consumed by adults, and the preferred way to eat them is by the handful." The challenge was developed in partnership with TikTok and features their creators in Duet videos taking on Marjanovic. "We can't wait to see how our fans get creative with the challenge."

The challenge is just one element in the new campaign, which also features a host of new commercials and video content, centered around the friendly competition between best friends Harris and Marjanovic. The campaign includes:

The campaign aims at adults in a new way for the brand. While known as a great snack for kids, adults eat a lot of Goldfish. "We've always talked to parents, and we're definitely not moving away from that. But nearly half of our consumption already comes from adults, so we know it's a snack for the whole family and we feel there is a big, untapped, audience out there for a campaign like this," said Lukin.

About Pepperidge FarmPepperidge Farm is a leading brand of premium quality snacks, fresh bakery products and frozen foods, founded in 1937. The Pepperidge Farm brand includes nearly 100 different snacks including over 30 varieties of Goldfish crackers and 65 varieties of cookies. The portfolio includes iconic Goldfish crackers, Milano cookies, and Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Thin & Crispy cookies and more than 50 varieties of fresh baked breads including Pepperidge Farm Swirl, Farmhouse and Whole Grain and frozen Puff Pastry, Layer Cakes and Garlic Bread. Founded by Margaret Rudkin, an entrepreneurial homemaker who began baking fresh, wholesome bread for her allergy-afflicted son, Pepperidge Farm branded products are now in approximately 75 percent of homes nationwide. For more information, visit www.pepperidgefarm.com or follow @GoldfishSmiles on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Eventually, as the popularity of the craze began to ebb, Massachusetts State Senator George Krapf filed a bill, according to the Harvard Crimson, "to preserve the fish from cruel and wanton consumption." Further pressure from The Animal Rescue League helped dampen the trend.

In the U.K., you can actually face legal troubles by taking the challenge." Last year, a 20-year-old from Suffolk was fined 200 and banned from owning animals for a year after a video surfaced showing him swallowing down two live goldfish. Both swimmers lived, however, after the kid threw them up. They now reportedly live a happy life with his grandmother, which is more than can be said of the hundreds of marine casualties of 1939.

If you are facing a challenge and are anxious about your situation, I know how you feel. I lost my job in 2001 during the dot-com bust. The company was losing money faster than we could raise it and eventually the company sank faster than the Titanic.

I thought it was the worst event of my life. I was two months away from being bankrupt. I had a wife, two young children, a mortgage, no health insurance, and very little savings and was a paycheck away from losing it all.

I read a few books including Who Moved My Cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, which helped me make some important decisions through the change. Eventually, these decisions would lead me to the work I do now as a writer, consultant, and speaker.

When the change hits, instead of focusing on the challenge, we can choose to look for the opportunity. We can ask what this event is teaching us and identify how we can grow stronger and wiser from it. We can live in fear or move forward with faith and take positive action.

Instead of waiting to be fed, they venture out into the ocean of possibility in search of food. Their beliefs and actions create a self-fulfilling prophecy; because when they expect to find food and take action to find it, they do.

Many do not have access to the resources needed to bring out their full leadership potential. That is why our content will always be free, and we would be forever grateful to those who help make that possible.

The Steam Goldfish Challenge was announced on September 29, 2015 on the Tradelands Reddit as an event due to many fans asking for more content from the OTMS group. NearmissTFW announced the Steam Goldfish will be given out if enough people bought the voucher for it. In the beginning the voucher was sold at 500 Robux but was quickly reduced to 300 Robux the next morning. To add more to the event NearmissTFW added goals that can be reached to get certain upgrades on the steamship. The challenge ends October 12th, 2015.

In two days the event was finished due to how fast the vouchers sold out. Also it was announced that regular steam goldfish will be available for the public around after October 5 2015. Here are the creator notes below for the completed challenge..

"CHALLENGE HAS ENDED Since the vouchers sold out, the Steam Goldfish will be made available for everyone to build at the shipyard, however only players with vouchers will be able to get the Super Goldfish that has the following additions:

As an intern in the Division of Culture and the Arts, I did not begin my research with this topic in mind. My job was to find headlines describing major news events that occurred in 1939. These would be used to border the walls for the 1939 exhibition on the third floor of the museum. But what began as a simple search for headlines ended with a collection of news titles about gulping (and in some cases, chewing) goldfish. I knew I would probably find some quirky headlines from such a momentous year, but I never expected to find this.

3a8082e126