College Bros in the 1930s Were the Champs of Goldfish Swallowing

A student at M.I.T. swallowed 42 goldfish.

People
2 min
Colton Kruse
Colton Kruse
College Bros in the 1930s Were the Champs of Goldfish Swallowing
All stories
People

Goldfish Swallowing

While the Internet’s cinnamon, saltine, mannequin , and ice bucket challenges may be just recent memories, mankind has long been swept up in crazes of daring. Things were no different in the early 1920s. Popularized in American schools, the challenge consisted of swallowing a live, wriggling goldfish whole.

The Great Goldfish Gulper

Some believe it gained widespread popularity when Lothrop Withington Jr. performed the stunt for a student election. Withington was running for class president, when he regaled the student body with tales of his willingness to do anything, mentioning he had once swallowed a goldfish.

Dared to repeat the stunt—and egged on by his friends—he stood before the student body and press to swallow the unfortunate fish. Afterwards, he brushed his teeth and washed it down with a dinner of fried fish and tartar sauce.

goldfish swallowing

“The scales caught a bit on my throat as they went down.”

The press spread the story like wildfire, even giving him coverage in TIME magazine. Before anyone knew it, students all over were swallowing goldfish. But proving you could swallow a goldfish quickly wasn’t enough, and the true test of their medal was just how many you could swallow!

goldfish swallowing

In a bit of Ivy League competition, a student was able to swallow 25 fish, but it was Albert Hayes of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that claimed the record holder for “piscine delegation” when he downed 42 slippery fish. It took him nearly a minute each to get the fish down, as it was reported that he had trouble keeping them from hopping out of his mouth! This record was apparently smashed by Joseph Deliberato who swallowed 89 goldfish at Clark University shortly after.

The Law

Unlike many fads that die out on their own, it took legislative action to stop goldfish gulping. The Massachusetts legislature imposed a ban on the “cruel and wanton consumption” of fish. Backed by the Boston Animal League, goldfish swallowers in the city were threatened with arrest.

The US Public Health Service also came out against the challenge, arguing that the live fish could contain tapeworms. Universities would fire back, however, publishing a study demonstrating that most adult males could swallow 150 fish without consequence.

Despite the widespread abandonment of the goldfish challenge, a few people kept the trend alive. By 1970, the record is said to have been moved up to 300, and you can now find goldfish gulping videos online.

Beware, however, there are still many laws against goldfish swallowing. A man in Wales was fined in 2015 for a video of him swallowing a fish he’d won at a fair!

About The Author

Colton Kruse

Colton Kruse

Starting as an intern in the Ripley’s digital archives, Colton’s intimately familiar with the travel…

By this author

Up Close & Peculiar With Michael Jackson Memorabilia

Up Close & Peculiar With Michael Jackson Memorabilia

Remembering John Graziano: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Cartoonist

Remembering John Graziano: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Cartoonist

Robyn Slain Will Make Your Head Spin

Robyn Slain Will Make Your Head Spin

Read All Their Stories

Or Explore Our Categories

Have an Amazing Story?

At Ripley’s, we’re always in search of the unbelievable – maybe it’s you! Show us your talents. Tell us a strange story or a weird fact. Share your unbelievable art with us. Maybe even sell us something that could become a part of Ripley’s collection!

Have an Amazing Story?

Read More Ripley's

Get lost in a vortex of weird and wonderful stories! Ripley’s twenty-first edition annual book is full of all-new, all-true stories from around the world.

Dare to Discover book
Buy Now
Swirling Pinstripe backdrop
Ripley's Cartoon of the Day

September 19, 2024

Cartoon of the Day

Strong winds at Slope Point, New Zealand, have left trees with a permanent crooked shape.

Ripley's Cartoon of the Day

Robert Ripley began the Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918. Today, Kieran Castaño is the eighth artist to continue the legacy of illustrating the world's longest-running syndicated cartoon!