How Not to Eat a Worm

I made a point of not saying a word about eating worms in The Earth Moved. Yes, there are some cultures in which people eat worms, and yes, a couple of worm composting books out there include worm recipes, and there’s no denying the fact that worms are a pretty good source of protein, as any chicken will tell you. A shop here in Eureka sells crisp-fried worms (they are actually not earthworms but grubs), and yes, when I was a kid I thought How to Eat Fried Worms was a pretty cool book.

But…ewwwwww. I’m a vegetarian; I don’t even like the idea of eating a cow, much less a creature as noble as a worm.

So a guy in India has set a new record in the competitive sport of worm-eating. He had something to say about the whole experience—something I wish I’d never read and something I don’t want to repeat here, but I’ll provide a link for those of you with a prurient interest in such matters.