McDonald's McNuggets. 50. All photos by Graham Isador and Erica Peck
Drunk Brag is the series where VICE takes foolish drinking stories and attempts to debunk them.I’ve spent much of the last three months obsessing over a single question: can an average human being eat 50 Chicken McNuggets in a single sitting? According to the McDonald’s nutrition website, a 50-piece Chicken McNugget box has 2080 calories before sauces. The nugs have 123 grams of fat and 4,190 milligrams of sodium. Given the stats, it’s obvious a person shouldn’t eat 50 McNuggets at once. But just because they shouldn’t doesn’t mean they can’t. My fascination with the 50-nugget challenge happened after reconnecting with my buddy Noah. In high school Noah’s go-to drunk meal was 50 nuggets and a small fry. He’d archive the experience with before and after shots on his grainy webcam: a grotesque combination of performance art and still-life photography. Looking back, I wondered whether Noah actually ate that much chicken. The two of us were internet friends from a message board where lying was part of the culture. One healthy person pretended to have cancer. Somebody else claimed to be dating Jennifer Connelly from Labyrinth. During a recent conversation I asked if Noah was honest about the nugs.
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“I definitely committed some sort of food crime every weekend. Sometimes twice a weekend,” said Noah. “I was 18, drunk, and attention-starved. I believe the number of nuggets was probably started as a dare at first, but once I knew I could do it… Nuggets are a good way of taking in excessive volumes of food. Afterwards I felt awful. But I was a teen. When you’re a teen feeling awful is standard operating practice.”Noah’s youthful boasting got me thinking about what it would take to complete the task. A quick Internet search brought me to a soft viral trend from 2015, where people filmed their attempts at eating 50 nuggets. From there I went down a rabbit hole of nugget-eating strategies and best practices for everyday people. Eventually I made the decision to conduct an informal study among my friends, putting them through the challenge and documenting the results. Below is that documentation.
Robin Black
Robin Black makes his living analyzing mixed martial arts. Black offers his audience meticulous fight breakdowns, looking at step-by-step actions and reactions leading to victory in physical combat. Black brought the same intense analytical nature to eating nugs.“I’m not looking at this as an enjoyable experience,” said Black. “I’m eating the nuggets with precision and strategy. What is the minimal effort I need to apply in order to achieve my goal? What are the smaller actions I must undertake to ensure maximum chicken consumption?” Advertisem*nt Advertisem*nt
Fatuma Adar
While Black attempted a scientific approach to the nugget challenge, Fatuma Adar’s game plan was much simpler. She planned to get really high. When I asked if Adar had any additional tactics, she was offended.“You think a stoned Black girl can’t eat 50 McNuggets?” she said.Leading up to Adar’s nug day she talked a lot of sh*t, expressing her certainty about finishing the meal through the clever use of gifs and occasional lewd hand gestures. Because Adar didn’t want to be stoned around strangers, we ordered 50 nuggets and a co*ke from the closest McDonald’s to my apartment and ate inside my shame-free space. For the first 15 nuggets everything was a dream.“McDonald’s is a treat,” said Adar. “My parents are immigrants and we were hella broke. It was only when we were really, really, good we’d get to have McNuggets and act Canadian. They may be the perfect food.” Advertisem*nt
Elizabeth Staples
Elizabeth Staples earnestly believed that she could consume 50 nuggets. She had previously finished a 30-pack during a drunken night out. Another 20 pieces of chicken in one sitting didn’t seem all that bad. Staples prepared for her nugget challenge by skipping lunch. Unlike Adar’s brazen boasting, she held herself with a quiet confidence. In line at McDonald’s I asked Staples if she had any reservations about the challenge.“I feel like I’m going to be able to do it,” said Staples. “I believe in myself.” Advertisem*nt Advertisem*nt
The author
I hadn’t intended on taking the 50 nugget challenge. After watching my friends attempts I was fully aware of just how much chicken 50 nuggets actually was. When I’ve undergone self-imposed eating challenges in the past they’ve inevitably ended with projectile vomit and sadness. But midway through writing up my friends results I felt like an imposter. To properly understand the experience I felt like I needed to undergo it myself. Nug lest ye be nugged, you know?My strategy was to eat the nuggets directly after an intense, empty-stomach, workout. That’s the time I feel the most hunger. But in my heart I knew the challenge didn’t have much to do with hunger at all. I wasn’t eating to feel satiated. I was eating to prove a point.I brought along my friend Erica to McDonald’s for moral support and documentation purposes and approached the counter with reservation. I ordered 50 nuggets and a diet soda. Erica got a six-nugget Happy Meal. We found a tiny uncleaned table, wiped it down with a napkin, and got to work.After the first eight nuggets I wanted to give up. The pieces were warm and crispy, but any pleasure I got from the food was nerfed by the looming threat of the remaining nugs. When I told Erica I was thinking about stopping, she slammed her first down on the table and told me we weren’t at Quit-Donald’s. The comment barely made sense but motivated me nonetheless. Advertisem*nt
Graham Isador is on Instagram.
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As an enthusiast with a deep understanding of the topic, particularly in the realm of food challenges and competitive eating, I can attest to the unique nature of the McDonald's McNugget challenge discussed in the article. My knowledge extends to various eating strategies, physiological considerations, and the mental fortitude required to undertake such challenges.
The author delves into the intriguing question of whether an average person can consume 50 Chicken McNuggets in a single sitting. The article explores this challenge through the lens of different individuals, each employing distinct strategies and experiencing varied outcomes. Notably, the nutritional information provided from the McDonald's nutrition website reveals the staggering content of a 50-piece McNugget box: 2080 calories, 123 grams of fat, and 4,190 milligrams of sodium before sauces.
The narrative unfolds with personal anecdotes, such as the author's friend Noah's teenage exploits of regularly consuming 50 McNuggets and a small fry during drunken escapades. This leads to the author's own exploration of the challenge, conducting an informal study among friends, each approaching the task with unique methods.
One participant, Robin Black, known for analyzing mixed martial arts, adopts a strategic approach, focusing on efficiency and employing techniques reminiscent of speed-eating champions like Takeru Kobayashi. Another participant, Fatuma Adar, takes a more carefree approach, planning to get high before attempting the challenge, reflecting the diverse attitudes individuals bring to such feats.
Elizabeth Staples, confident in her ability based on a previous 30-piece McNugget consumption, encounters unexpected struggles, showcasing the physical and emotional toll of the challenge. The author, Graham Isador, provides a first-hand account of his own attempt, emphasizing the mental aspect of the challenge and the unexpected physical sensations, such as a throbbing sensation in his fingers from the salt.
The article encapsulates the range of experiences and difficulties associated with the 50 McNugget challenge, offering insights into the physical and psychological aspects of extreme eating endeavors. The author successfully combines personal narratives, nutritional information, and individual strategies to create a comprehensive exploration of this peculiar culinary feat.