The act of swallowing livegoldfish was afad first popularized by students at American colleges in the late 1930s.[1]
The origin of this practice is unclear. A 1963 letter toThe New York Times claimed that it was started by a man named Lothrop Withington Jr.—grandnephew of the noted genealogistLothrop Withington—who was a freshman atHarvard University and did so to win a $10 bet[2] as part of a bid to becomeclass president.[1][3] The stunt started a competition between multiple universities such asPenn,MIT, and Harvard in an attempt to surpass one another.[2][3] In April 1939,Marie Hansen of theUniversity of Missouri School of Journalism became the first woman widely known to participate in this trend.[1][2]
The activity 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 toClark University's Joe Deliberto, who sucked down 89 goldfish.[5] Critics of goldfish swallowing soon emerged, such as the Society for the Prevention of Goldfish Eating, established in the spring of 1939.[6] Additionally, Eva Williams Raymond published a poem in theBoston Herald condemning the practice:
To end this paranoiac prank,
O Harvard, how I wish
You'd put the students in a tank
And graduate the fish![7]
According to theSmithsonianNational Museum of American History, goldfish swallowing was such a craze at universities during the 1930s that it made appearances in several news publications, includingThe New York Times and theWashington Post.[1] An article in April 1939 in theLos Angeles Times called itgoldfish gulping and showed a photo of someone mid-act.[1] According toTheNashua Telegraph, a dance mimicking the goldfish gulping trend was also introduced among students, termed "doing the goldfish".[8]
Another possibility of the origins of goldfish swallowing comes fromChicago bartenders, most notably Matt Schulien (who performedmagic while tending bar at his family's restaurant). He would cut upcarrots 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 it 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] That trick dates back to the 1920s, and the fad could have been started by college students fooled by the trick.[6][10]
In the 1950s, the stunt became so popular that Massachusetts State Senator George Krapf filed a bill to "preserve the fish from cruel and wanton consumption."[11]
Although once widely practiced largely at American colleges, the stunt is rare today, but has made appearances in recent entertainment. In 2000,Jackass starSteve-O swallowed a live goldfish andregurgitated it moments later.[12] It even evolved into anInternet challenge called "The Goldfish Challenge", which earned the disapproval ofPETA, citing evidence that the practice caused the animals "needless pain".[2] Additionally, according toThe Atlantic, goldfish gulping had become a "fixture of collegiatehazing rituals", and regularly listed as offenses in lawsuits againstfraternities and sports teams,[5] notably a lawsuit against five upperclassmen and an additional member of a former swim team in theUniversity of Virginia.[13]
In 2014, Jack Blowers, a 20-year-old from theUnited Kingdom was fined £200 and banned from owning pet animals for a year by theRSPCA for gulping down two goldfish, both of which survived, alongside aquarium water, fish food, and gravel as part of aNeknomination video onFacebook.[14] In 2019, aNew Jersey man was arrested and charged withcruelty to animals, improper telephone communications, and being afugitive from justice for more than 26 months[15] after allegedly swallowing his ex-girlfriend's goldfish in her dorm room atLouisiana State University and sending a photograph of hisfeces, with the caption, "Found your fish".[16] In October 2020, the LSU goldfish incident wasexpunged from his record.[17]
Swallowing live goldfish can lead to serious health complications. Goldfish may carryparasites, bacteria likesalmonella, orfungal infections that are harmful to humans. The practice poses achoking risk and can causeinternal injuries due to sharp fish bones. If the practice involves goldfish bought from a pet store, a rare skin condition caused by bacteria in the water, known asaquarium granuloma, may result. This can cause skin rashes and lesions which may develop intotuberculosis. Additionally, many commercially available goldfish are treated withantiparasitic andantibacterial medicines. Some of these medicines are recognized ascarcinogens and could pass on harmful effects to the consumer.[18]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| Fish | |
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