How much to eat a mealworm larva?

Undertoad · 01-23-2003, 01:18 AM

I saw this subject studied in a similar way on Usenet, once, waaaay long ago. Worth considering again.

A mealworm is the larva of a little beetle, you've probably seem them:

Birds like to eat 'em.

But in this case the question is directed at YOU, dear reader... how much money would it take to convince you to eat one of these?

You could assume that the larva was raised in a sterile environment. It would be live. It would move around in a larval sort of way. You'd have to swallow it. Chewing is optional.

Assuming that a representative was standing by with a huge truck full of US dollars, and would pay you on the spot in cash money, no strings attached. How much to down the bugger?

This is not a test, it's nothing deep, just a simple question.

wolf · 01-23-2003, 01:39 AM

(or however the heck you transliterate that Klingon dish which is composed entirely of live squirmy looking things like this).

To borrow from Dr. Evil™ ...

"one mill ... uh, I mean 10 BILLION dollars." (you are talking about just one small one, right?)

I would not be a good candidate for Fear Factor. We occasionally have it on at work. I have seen and dealt with a lot of icky things. Eviscerations lead me to say things like "Wow, cool!"

I see the folks on that show do stupid things in relative safety from high places and have a strong sense of vertigo.

When the task involves eating gooey things, that's it, I'm DONE. I nearly lost my dinner watching them drink the ostrich eggs the other week. Hell, I couldn't deal with that scene in Rocky.

wolf · 01-23-2003, 02:04 AM

This thread cannot go forward without at least one reference to this.

Skunks · 01-23-2003, 02:40 AM

The truck and contents therein, minus cash for a cab back to civilization. I see no reason to trouble them with the hassle of getting more.

That said, I have no idea how much I'd dislike the act itself. I've been known to mistakenly chew on things that, in retrospect (and better lighting) were rather gross. With something as small as a single worm, it seems viable to just swallow it down quickly and worry about how weird it felt/generally gross the idea itself is later.

If what you're asking is what the minimum is, well. I doubt I'd go to the trouble for less than 1k.

01-23-2003, 05:16 AM

Yeah, it seems kind of like a waste for less than $1,000. I couldn't be bothered for that much.

I'd definitely do it for a million, but I'd try and push it up to a billion or so.... just 'cause I'm pretty sure I could live comfortably with that much money.

Yeah, I'd probably put my starting price at $5,000.

Griff · 01-23-2003, 06:40 AM

Prolly 5 bucks if I can chase it with a beer. When I was a kid almost everything made me gag- beans, carrots, peas, so I developed my liquid immersion technique which allows me to eat almost anything. Does this have anything to do with your loss of orafice control yesterday or did subway finally poison you?

01-23-2003, 06:42 AM

Nothing to do with it. Just seems like too much to do for not enough money. What a hassle!

I had eaten Pizza Hut the night before; namely, Caesar Salad. I think that's what did it. Imagine stomach acid and ranch dressing. That was the taste. It was foul. Much worse than I imagine that larva would be.

Griff · 01-23-2003, 06:49 AM

Pizza Hut is on my banned list. No good comes from that place even when they don't poison you.

Undertoad · 01-23-2003, 12:21 PM

I didn't post my own price. I think I'd go for about $30.

OK, the discomfort is temporary, it's not going to kill me, and all of the disgust is in the mind. We wind up eating a lot of really, truly disgusting things that we don't even know about and it doesn't hurt us. Yup, $30.

99 44/100% pure · 01-23-2003, 01:00 PM

I think it depends upon the age (and preconceived notions) of the person being challenged. For example, my kids ate worms for free this summer at nature camp. OK, they were roasted, but to add to the overall experience, they dug 'em up themselves, prepared them and cooked them. They also got to try 'em dipped in chocolate.

There is possibly no amount of chocolate or money that could induce me to do this, whereas I actually paid for them to enjoy this experience!

warch · 01-23-2003, 03:20 PM

I'd go for $100. With that I could get, like, a nice pair of shoes. I would chew too, cause I couldnt take the lingering thought of live movement. I would request lime, salt and a tequila/mezcal chaser, cause nothing goes with larve like mezcal.

Whit · 01-23-2003, 10:34 PM

     I'm thinking about $50. Maybe less, maybe more depending on the attitude of the person paying the money. I took Nyquil last night, and it can't be worse than that. Not the cherry, the original, Green Liquid Death Flavor. I figure if you're not sick enough to deal with the taste of that then you're not sick enough to take medicine.

wolf · 01-24-2003, 12:06 AM

I think you guys are all selling yourselves short. I want the whole truckload of money. :P

01-24-2003, 05:26 AM

Whit -

Dayquil is way worse. WAY worse. Good lord.

Whit · 01-24-2003, 10:43 AM

     Dayquil does indeed suck. Not only does it taste really bad, it's not nearly as effective as Nyquil. Given a choice between Dayquil and the meal worm I'll go with the worm. Still, Dayquil is still preferable to an Adam Sandler movie. Though I will admit that the one that's about to come out with Jack Nickleson looks pretty good.

01-23-2003, 01:18 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	How much to eat a mealworm larva? I saw this subject studied in a similar way on Usenet, once, waaaay long ago. Worth considering again. A mealworm is the larva of a little beetle, you've probably seem them: Birds like to eat 'em. But in this case the question is directed at YOU, dear reader... how much money would it take to convince you to eat one of these? You could assume that the larva was raised in a sterile environment. It would be live. It would move around in a larval sort of way. You'd have to swallow it. Chewing is optional. Assuming that a representative was standing by with a huge truck full of US dollars, and would pay you on the spot in cash money, no strings attached. How much to down the bugger? This is not a test, it's nothing deep, just a simple question.

01-23-2003, 01:39 AM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Mmmmmmm G'ACH! (or however the heck you transliterate that Klingon dish which is composed entirely of live squirmy looking things like this). To borrow from Dr. Evil™ ... "one mill ... uh, I mean 10 BILLION dollars." (you are talking about just one small one, right?) I would not be a good candidate for Fear Factor. We occasionally have it on at work. I have seen and dealt with a lot of icky things. Eviscerations lead me to say things like "Wow, cool!" I see the folks on that show do stupid things in relative safety from high places and have a strong sense of vertigo. When the task involves eating gooey things, that's it, I'm DONE. I nearly lost my dinner watching them drink the ostrich eggs the other week. Hell, I couldn't deal with that scene in Rocky. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-23-2003, 02:04 AM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	This thread cannot go forward without at least one reference to this. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-23-2003, 06:40 AM	#6
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Prolly 5 bucks if I can chase it with a beer. When I was a kid almost everything made me gag- beans, carrots, peas, so I developed my liquid immersion technique which allows me to eat almost anything. Does this have anything to do with your loss of orafice control yesterday or did subway finally poison you? __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

01-23-2003, 06:49 AM	#8
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Pizza Hut is on my banned list. No good comes from that place even when they don't poison you. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

01-23-2003, 02:40 AM	#4
Skunks I thought I changed this. Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: western nowhere, ny Posts: 412	The truck and contents therein, minus cash for a cab back to civilization. I see no reason to trouble them with the hassle of getting more. That said, I have no idea how much I'd dislike the act itself. I've been known to mistakenly chew on things that, in retrospect (and better lighting) were rather gross. With something as small as a single worm, it seems viable to just swallow it down quickly and worry about how weird it felt/generally gross the idea itself is later. If what you're asking is what the minimum is, well. I doubt I'd go to the trouble for less than 1k.

01-23-2003, 05:16 AM	#5
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah, it seems kind of like a waste for less than $1,000. I couldn't be bothered for that much. I'd definitely do it for a million, but I'd try and push it up to a billion or so.... just 'cause I'm pretty sure I could live comfortably with that much money. Yeah, I'd probably put my starting price at $5,000.

01-23-2003, 06:42 AM	#7
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Nothing to do with it. Just seems like too much to do for not enough money. What a hassle! I had eaten Pizza Hut the night before; namely, Caesar Salad. I think that's what did it. Imagine stomach acid and ranch dressing. That was the taste. It was foul. Much worse than I imagine that larva would be.

01-23-2003, 12:21 PM	#9
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I didn't post my own price. I think I'd go for about $30. OK, the discomfort is temporary, it's not going to kill me, and all of the disgust is in the mind. We wind up eating a lot of really, truly disgusting things that we don't even know about and it doesn't hurt us. Yup, $30.

01-23-2003, 01:00 PM	#10
99 44/100% pure Infrequently Astonished Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Baltimore metro area Posts: 324	I think it depends upon the age (and preconceived notions) of the person being challenged. For example, my kids ate worms for free this summer at nature camp. OK, they were roasted, but to add to the overall experience, they dug 'em up themselves, prepared them and cooked them. They also got to try 'em dipped in chocolate. There is possibly no amount of chocolate or money that could induce me to do this, whereas I actually paid for them to enjoy this experience! __________________ Overcompensating for the 0.56% that is irredeemably corrupted.

01-23-2003, 03:20 PM	#11
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	I'd go for $100. With that I could get, like, a nice pair of shoes. I would chew too, cause I couldnt take the lingering thought of live movement. I would request lime, salt and a tequila/mezcal chaser, cause nothing goes with larve like mezcal.

01-23-2003, 10:34 PM	#12
Whit Umm ... yeah. Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 949	I'm thinking about $50. Maybe less, maybe more depending on the attitude of the person paying the money. I took Nyquil last night, and it can't be worse than that. Not the cherry, the original, Green Liquid Death Flavor. I figure if you're not sick enough to deal with the taste of that then you're not sick enough to take medicine. __________________ A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body.

01-24-2003, 12:06 AM	#13
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I think you guys are all selling yourselves short. I want the whole truckload of money. :P __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-24-2003, 05:26 AM	#14
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Whit - Dayquil is way worse. WAY worse. Good lord.

01-24-2003, 10:43 AM	#15
Whit Umm ... yeah. Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 949	Dayquil does indeed suck. Not only does it taste really bad, it's not nearly as effective as Nyquil. Given a choice between Dayquil and the meal worm I'll go with the worm. Still, Dayquil is still preferable to an Adam Sandler movie. Though I will admit that the one that's about to come out with Jack Nickleson looks pretty good. __________________ A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body. Last edited by Whit; 01-24-2003 at 10:47 AM.

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