The post-Jackass Fox game show's feats of strength, endurance and intestinal fortitude have brought out the fourth grader in all of us. Is it really any surprise that the program's biggest thrillers are the segments that involve eating, touching or bathing in something nasty? Oh, sure, it's exhilarating to watch blindfolded skyscraper-climbing and people jumping between vehicles moving at high speeds, but nothing elicits a cringe like seeing somebody's head in a box full of cockroaches or somebody's mouth full of deer testicles.
If you're 10, or a sponsored skateboarder, the idea of doing stupid, sick or painful things in the name of honor, fun or a little money is second nature. If you're not, you might want to consider running your own gross-out game, just for the hell of it, anywhere more than six or seven friends/suckers congregate this summer. Not only will it kill a few hours in a most entertaining fashion, it's also educational; you never know what some people will or won't do on a bet.
One can either set up an impromptu session on the fly using whatever happens to be lying (or moldering) around, or plan ahead with a trip to the butcher shop or your local Asian food mart. We'll suggest the former, on the assumptions that a) you really don't have a lot of extra money to spend on yak tongue, and b) you've probably got everything you need in your fridge or garage. Remember that pickle jar in the door that's empty except for the brine? Or how about the case of ramen noodles you're never really going to eat? There you go.
Feel free to rig up a couple of endurance/strength competitions if you want — ever fed anybody mashed potatoes while they dangled upside down from a pull-up bar? — but remember that the TV show's biggest hits largely concern the gross and the potentially painful. One of our ideas for a round consisted of having to remove dimes from a cup of sauerkraut juice by sucking them out with a straw. Another simple one involved fresh 9-volt batteries, tongues, and the amount of time one would stay in contact with the other. Have fun and be creative, but be aware that there's a line in there somewhere that's not to be crossed. At a recent party, we waited too long to try and round up some contestants — by midnight, those still sober were too smart to go for it, while those drinking heavily were too worried about their already precarious gag-reflex situations.
