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[[File:SixSaltinesAndForkOnPlate.jpg|thumb|Six Nabisco brand saltines, each measuring {{nowrap|5 cm}} {{nowrap|(2 in)}} square |alt=A plate, with a fork in the foreground and a stack of crackers in the background]]
The '''saltine cracker challenge''' or simply the "saltine challenge" is a competition in which a person has 60 seconds in which to eat six [[saltine cracker|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 may not use any external liquid to aid in chewing.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Family Book: Amazing Things To Do Together |first1=Philippa |last1=Wingate |first2=David |last2=Woodroffe |page=160 |year=2008 |___location=New York |publisher=[[Scholastic Corporation|Scholastic]] |isbn=0-545-05757-4}}</ref><ref name="Joplin">{{cite news |title=‘Dr. Food Science’ mixes bananas and Sprite, conducts other questionable food experiments |work=[[The Joplin Globe]] |first=Dustin |last=Shipman |date=2008-04-29 |url=http://www.joplinglobe.com/food/local_story_120162143.html/resources_printstory |accessdate=2009-10-22}}</ref>
==The individual challenge==
[[File:SaltineCrackerEatingContest ThreeForTracy.jpg|thumb|Office workers competing against the clock |alt=A man and a woman with their mouths full of crackers, seated at a table with piles of crackers]]
The challenge is generally given as eating six saltines in a single minute, although the target is sometimes set at five or seven.<ref>{{cite news |title=A MINOR LEAGUE SOJOURN | Against all odds | Class A vet still clings to baseball dreams |first=Kevin |last=Acee |date=1999-07-25 |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |page=C.1 |id=Factiva SDU0000020070617dv7p00dca |quote=The attraction is third baseman Kevin Eberwein, who has taken the challenge of trying to eat six saltine crackers in 60 seconds without the aid of water. }}</ref><ref name="Lantern">{{cite news |work=[[The Lantern]] |title=Drowning the sorrow |date=2003-11-24 |first=Erik |last=Bussa |url=http://www.thelantern.com/2.1346/drowning-the-sorrow-1.89742 |accessdate=2009-10-23}}</ref> Most people are able to eat at least two saltines without water, although patients affected by [[Sjögren's syndrome]] lack the saliva necessary for even this many. Doctors may use this test, the "cracker test" or "cracker sign", to help diagnose the disorder.<ref>{{cite book |title=The hypochondriac's guide to life and death |first=Gene |last=Weingarten |authorlink=Gene Weingarten |page=71 |year=2001 |isbn=0-684-85648-4 |publisher=[[Fireside Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Cecil textbook of medicine |volume=2 |year=1996 |edition=20th |author=Russell La Fayette Cecil, J. Claude Bennett, [[Fred Plum]] |page=1488}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Kelley's textbook of rheumatology |volume=2 |year=2005 |edition=7th |author=Edward D. Harris, Shaun Ruddy, William N. Kelley |page=1109}}</ref>
A 1996 [[Associated Press|AP]] story used the challenge to illustrate the competitive nature and persistence of [[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee Volunteers]] quarterback [[Peyton Manning]]. Having been bet that he could not eat 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=Manning Seeks a Way to Succeed |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Oregonian]] |date=1996-08-11 |edition=First |page=C06 |first=Teresa M. |last=Walker |id=Factiva por0000020011015ds8b014cg |quote=Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning eats the saltine crackers one at a time, trying to scarf down six in 60 seconds.}}</ref> Before the 2001–2002 season, [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]] [[Penn State Nittany Lions|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 did not 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=Portland passes cracker test and gets two quality recruits |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=2002-01-28 |first=Paul |last=Zeise |page=B-9 |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZuwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7069%2C4628533 |accessdate=2009-10-22}} Base reference: {{cite news |title=SHOES ADD SHINE TO LADY LION UNIFORMS |work=[[Centre Daily Times]] |date=2002-01-18 |page=1B}}</ref> Other athletes connected with the challenge include baseball coach [[Brad Fischer]]<ref>{{cite news |title=A'S CLUBHOUSE / No Bellyaching From Coach Whose Binges Bring Dollars |first=Susan |last=Slusser |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=2000-07-18 |page=D.6 |id=ProQuest 56519161}}</ref> and [[Derek Jeter]]; a photographer challenged by Jeter observed, "Being competitive has become his way to relax."<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Men's Health (magazine)|Men's Health]] |year=2008 |month=April |page=24 |first=Patrik |last=Giardino |title=Contributors |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2scDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24 |accessdate=2009-10-23}}</ref>
The challenge has been televised on [[Breakfast television|morning]] news [[talk show]]s. In a 2001 ''[[The Early Show]]'' episode, [[Tom Bergeron]] took a bet that he could not eat four saltines in a minute, and after attempting them all at once, he lost $40. [[Jane Clayson Johnson|Jane Clayson]] asked the staff member who had started the bet how she knew the challenge, to which she replied, "College."<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Filler: Co-op time |series=CBS News: The Early Show |serieslink=The Early Show |airdate=2001-11-19 |id=Factiva CBST000020070818dxcj00do2}} See also the buildup: {{Cite episode |title=Sign-off: The Early Show |series=CBS News: The Early Show |serieslink=The Early Show |airdate=2001-11-18 |id=Factiva CBST000020070818dxci00dnb}} See also the followup: {{Cite episode |title=Leads: The Early Show, 8:30 AM |series=CBS News: The Early Show |serieslink=The Early Show |airdate=2001-11-19 |id=Factiva CBST000020070818dxcj00do3}}</ref> Indeed, several college newspapers have noted the phenomenon on campus.<ref name="Lantern" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Summer slumbers |date=2005-07-13 |work=[[Technician (newspaper)|Technician]] |first=Kenneth |last=Ball |id=Factiva UWIR000020050714e17d0004g}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Facebook makes for some good friends |date=2005-09-20 |work=[[Columbia Daily Spectator]] |first=Fernanda |last=Diaz |id=Factiva UWIR000020050921e19k000as}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mirthful breaks from mind-numbing studying |work=[[Student Life (newspaper)|Student Life]] |date=2006-12-22 |first=Yarden |last=Maoz |id=Factiva UWIR000020061222e2cm0002l |url=http://www.studlife.com/archives/Scene/2006/12/08/Mirthfulbreaksfrommindnumbingstudying/ |accessdate=2009-10-22}}</ref>
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, considering it to unfairly bypass the central problem of the challenge.
==Competitive races==
[[File:Cabin challenge - eating saltines.jpg|thumb|Eight high school juniors eating saltines]]
Older versions of the challenge include events where one competes to be the first person to eat some number of crackers and then audibly [[whistling|whistle]] a tune. Such competitions are at least a century old.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=The Dodge idea |volume=24 |issue=4 |title=Second Annual Dodge Field Day |page=59 |year=1908 |month=October |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZOzNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA59 |accessdate=2009-10-22}}</ref>
A 1970s episode of the [[education]]al [[television show]] ''[[ZOOM (1972 TV series)|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zoom to PBS aimed at giving kids ideas |first=Jeanne |last=Spreier |date=1998-01-05 |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |edition=Home Final |page=5C |id=Factiva dal0000020010916du15000u8}}</ref>
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, North Dakota|Minto]]; a local legend has it that he benefits from an extra [[salivary gland]]. Stoltman says that he requires two [[suction tube]]s at the [[dentist]], and of the gland, "I don't know for sure. But my orthodontist said he's never seen saliva like that."<ref>{{cite news |title=Broom At The Top ; Baby, it's cold outside, so North Dakotans like to curl up with a good CURLING tournament |first=Mark |last=Bechtel |date=2004-01-19 |work=[[Sports Illustrated]] |page=32 |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1031102/index.htm |accessdate=2009-10-25}}</ref> He was upset by Greg Shane of [[Oslo, Minnesota|Oslo]] in the 2009 running, possibly because Stoltman had been celebrating his 40th birthday. Five-time winner Kelly Schanilec (Bonet) won the first-place trophy in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scouting out Minto's bologna cook-off brings whistles of joy |work=[[Grand Forks Herald]] |date=2009-01-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Oslo team wins Minto bologna competition |date=2009-01-19 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |id=Factiva APRS000020090119e51j0039d}}</ref>
The saltine challenge is performed as a bar trick to win bets.
[[Ambrose Mendy]] set a world record for eating three [[Jacob's]] [[cream cracker]]s without drinking in 49.15 seconds on October 29, 2002.<ref>{{cite news |first=Brian |last=McIver |title=50 Years of Utter Nutters |work=Daily Record |date=2004-08-31 }}</ref>
==Related challenges==
{{main|Competitive eating}}
A similar test is the "[[cinnamon challenge]]", in which a person must eat a [[tablespoon]] of [[cinnamon]]. Again, this is a small amount of a familiar food, but it quickly dries out the mouth's saliva, making the powder hard to swallow. Some who attempt this challenge report that the cinnamon is especially unpleasant, and that its dust is comparable to [[pepper spray]].<ref name="Joplin" />
Another related challenge is to "[[milk chugging]]", in which the person must drink a gallon of milk in the space of one hour, and refrain from [[vomiting]]. The main barrier for the milk challenge is [[stomach]] capacity; milk is also more difficult than water because [[fat]] and [[protein (nutrient)|protein]] inhibit release into the [[small intestine]].<ref>{{cite news |title=N.C. State students test milk chugging theory |first=Luke |last=Young |date=2006-08-29 |work=[[Technician (newspaper)|Technician]] |id=Factiva UWIR000020060830e28t00012}}</ref> A similar stomach capacity challenge is the "[[Banana Sprite challenge]]" in which the person must eat two bananas and drink two large bottles of the soft drink [[Sprite (soft drink)|Sprite]].
One student columnist described the saltines, cinnamon, and milk challenges as the "college triple crown".<ref>{{cite news |title=Duke Preview: A 10-step program for wiggling your way into the Duke game |work=[[The Heights (newspaper)|The Heights]] |first=Kevin |last=Alloca |url=http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2006/01/30/Sports/Duke-Preview.A.10Step.Program.For.Wiggling.Your.Way.Into.The.Duke.Game-1520919.shtml |accessdate=2009-10-24}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Challenges]]
[[Category:Competitive eating]]
[[Category:Crackers (food)]]
[[Category:Party games]]
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