Jack Vs. Food (The 50 McNugget Challenge)

Jack Auslen, Editor-In-Chief

Well, I’m back at it again. I know it may seem stupid to keep trying to conquer food when I haven’t finished one, but persistence pays off.

My challenge for this issue was the 50 piece Chicken McNugget Challenge. This challenge is exactly what it sounds like.

Eat 50 Chicken McNuggets, without puking, in under an hour.

Sounds easy right?

Wrong.

Senior Bobby Roehrig, who you may remember was a part of the 14-Pound Pizza Challenge and the Unlimited Pancake Challenge, was part of this challenge as well.

In the past, we’ve worked together and we’ve also competed against each other. This time, like the Unlimited Pancake Challenge, we were competing against each other.

Whoever could complete the challenge first would be crowned the champion.

We walked into the McDonalds on 64th and Indiana and sat down on either side of the table. Our photographer, senior Evan Gustafson, would also be our designated McNugget buyer and bring us to them as we finished each box.

We started out with 20 McNuggets each. These were just like a normal McDonald’s lunch before 5th block; I had to eat them quickly but they weren’t hard to put down. After we finished that box of McNuggets, we moved on to 10 piece boxes. Every time one of us finished a box, Evan went to buy another.

Once you get to 40 McNuggets, each one begins to taste like a greasy hunk of fat. At this point any enjoyment of the taste is gone and you have to grind your way through each one.

So far neither of us had been using any sauces and I decided to change it up a bit.

Bobby stayed committed to plain McNuggets.

Fast forward to our final few McNuggets.

Bobby had just finished his 48th and I had just finished my 46th.

Bobby stepped outside to, “get some fresh air” while I stayed inside trying to catch up to him. Out of nowhere, Bobby comes into the restaurant and shoves his final two McNuggets in his mouth with confidence.

This strategy back fired. Almost immediately, he ran outside and started upchucking into the first trash can he could find.

Now that Bobby had been disqualified, and I had about 15 minutes to finish four McNuggets, I could take my time.

Getting some fresh air did sound refreshing, so I took my last McNuggets and went to finish them outside.

Those last few bites had the worst taste I had ever experienced. After eating 46 of the same thing, your taste buds start begging for something new.

Despite my recent history of failing to finish the challenges I take on, I swallowed my 50th McNugget.

This moment was full of both joy and pain, both because of the 50 McNuggets in my stomach. I made sure to get my picture taken during this moment (see the cover of this story) and then I drove straight home and lied down for the rest of the night.

“I just saw the picture of us Evan posted on Twitter,” Bobby said, “and it really fueled my fire to begin training harder and harder to reclaim my title.”

The next Jack vs. Food will include a competition between Bobby and me; to find out what we’re going to tackle next, you’ll just have to wait and see.