October 21, 2003

 Has it been nearly a year already? I guess it is since the smell of corn is in the air. Though I myself did not participate in the Corn Challenge last year, I was close enough to it so see how it effected those brave corn guzzling few.

I remember the days just before the Challenge began. Spirits were high and everyone was excited. All of C2, or the wing we lived on anyways, was asking questions about what may happen if an individual were to eat corn for three days. Most shared this idea that, since corn doesn’t digest fully, one would excrete a full cob of corn. I don’t recall anyone claiming they had that experience. Another good question raised was whether or not the corn would ferment in their stomachs, therefore intoxicating them. I don’t believe that this actually happened either. Oh man, we thought that this Corn Challenge was going to be a joyous time.

Or not. On only the second day of the challenge I noticed that my roommate had become very cranky and irritable when he blew up at me for making a tiny comment about some television show we were watching. I noticed that the other participants morale had become rather low as well. The end was in sight. Later that same day the challengers headed to McDonalds for a corn-less meal. The first ever Corn Challenge was a failure.

But not all was lost. Everyone soon decided to make the Corn Challenge an annual event. It is my belief that this year the participants know what to expect and will consequently be better prepared. This years group has increased to eleven, and that number may even continue to grow. Most importantly, we have the leadership of four Corn Challenge veterans to help guide us.

Ya, so everyone is pretty pumped about this despite that it’s over a month away. I think it’s also very cool that we have some members of the female persuasion joining this year (Lisa and Christine). Not only that, but we have people across campus participating, too. I think we could get some more, or at least generate some interest if we were to put up some flyers.

I’ve rambled on long enough.

Mike Perleberg