Utah Man ‘Wins’ Eggnog-Chugging Contest, Winds Up In The Hospital

Ryan Roche of Lehi, Utah, is probably questioning his life choices after spending a day in the Intensive Care Unit, plus two more days in the hospital and a week at home recovering, all because he “won” an eggnog-chugging contest.

The 33-year-old was at his employer’s office Christmas party, according to WPTV (West Palm Beach), and was just about to leave when a friend challenged him to chug a quart of eggnog — the non-alcoholic kind.

“I think it was one of those spur of the moment kind of things.”

The office record for eggnog chugging prior to that point had been 22 seconds. But Ryan, who admits he’s “pretty competitive,” according to ABC News, wasn’t going to let that record stand without a fight.

“I just decided I was going to win. So I pretty much just opened it up and poured it down my throat.”

Now at this point a little exposition is probably in order. Non-alcoholic eggnog is mostly sugar and cream, plus some spices and preservatives (if it’s store-bought). A one-cup serving, according to Calorie King, is 344 calories. Mr. Roche chugged a quart; that is, four cups, or 1,376 calories. Pouring that much of anything down your throat isn’t going to be a good idea, but chugging a thick dairy product like eggnog is even more likely to end poorly.

And for Ryan Roche, the eggnog-chugging champion, it ended poorly.

“I pretty much poured it down. When I got done, I gasped. I couldn’t breathe.”

Ryan made it home, uncomfortably, but his body’s rejection of the eggnog was just beginning.

“Two hours later I was laying on the couch, shaking uncontrollably, nauseous, having fevers and panting.”

A friend took him to the hospital, where he found out that the some of the eggnog had gone down his esophagus and into his lungs, causing him to aspirate.

“They pretty much had to wheelchair me in: double IV, oxygen and hooked me up to what they call the nuclear weapon of antibiotics.”

There’s a lesson to be learned here, and it’s this: food- and drink-consuming contests may seem like fun, but they can be fatal. In 2012, according to this Inquisitr report, a Florida man died after a roach-eating contest. To be fair, eggnog is far more appetizing than roaches, but the point still stands.

And what did the eggnog-chugging champion win for all of his troubles? A $50 gift certificate to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. If you’re familiar with Ruth’s Chris, you already know that $50 won’t get you much — here is their menu.

As of this post, Mr. Roche hasn’t said if his gift certificate is worth what he went through to get it.

[Image courtesy of: KVNU]