I have been known to be a sucker for a challenge. All it takes is for someone to say "I bet you can't....." and I can't help myself. One day this summer, Eric said he'd give me $60 if I could swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon. He also indicated that he was certain that I couldn't do it. Well, I like cinnamon - on sticky buns, mixed with sugar on buttery toast, in my oatmeal - so if a little cinnamon is good, then a lot has to be better, right?
I was absolutely sure I was going to prove him wrong and swallow the cinnamon. I had never heard of anyone getting sick or dying from cinnamon poisoning, and I thought this was going to be the easiest 60 bucks I ever made. I almost felt a little guilty - like taking candy from a baby. I think my cocky attitude got into his head a little, and although he didn't say it, I sensed for a moment that he wanted to withdraw the offer.
He went ahead and prepared a heaping spoonful of cinnamon and Jon got the camera. Someone suggested we go out onto the deck. Here goes....
Let me make one thing perfectly clear - I do not recommend trying this, nor will I attempt it again. It burned like crazy - think 100 Red Hot Fireballs at once without the benefit of any sweetness. The cinnamon was so powdery/fine that it instantly absorbed all of the saliva in my mouth and sucked the rest out of my salivary glands, which only moistened about 10% of it. I thought if I could just hold on and "make some more spit" I would be able to moisten it enough to make it swallowable. In the meantime, it puffed up into my nose, and then when I started to cough, it went up higher. It felt like the bottom of my eyeballs were on fire. I think I did actually swallow a little of it, which of course burned my throat. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be able to swallow the stuff even if I could spittify it some more. That's when I went to the rail.
So the lesson I learned was........
.......................there was no lesson. The next time someone comes up with a kooky challenge, I'll be all over it, like a dog chasing a squirrel.
I had aspirated some of the cinnamon, so I coughed for a few days. My throat hurt for about that long. And when I blew my nose, well.......
I smelled like a car freshener for the rest of the day. That was nice.
1 comment:
Sounds like something I would have done. I once ate 3 hard pretzels, chewing and swallowing, in less than 1 minute for $10.00. The person claimed that the alum used in the pretzel dough would dry my mouth out enough that I wouldn't be able to swallow them. I proved him wrong.
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