Sean Murphy stuffs them in one by one as they hiss. The small barbs on the cockroaches' kicking legs cut his lip and the inside of his mouth, but he is doing this for a cause.
Murphy, a pet store employee, will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for holding Madagascar hissing cockroaches in his mouth for 10 seconds on Sunday.
The record attempt will be part of the Halloween Spectacular at Preuss Pets, where Murphy works, to raise money for the Harris Nature Center.
After seeing a video of the unofficial cockroach record holder, Murphy said he knew he could top it. That inspired his attempt last October, when he held 16 hissing cockroaches in his mouth for 10 seconds, but it was not verified as an official Guinness World Record because it did not meet several guidelines.
The official Guinness World Record for this feat is six cockroaches, and Sean hopes to officially double that by putting 12 of the insects in his mouth Sunday.
Earning a title is not his primary motivation though, he said.
"To raise money for the nature center is even better," Murphy said.
Money raised at the event will go toward building a new river outlook for educating classes at the Harris Nature Center.
"We knew we could turn it into something useful and helpful," said Rick Preuss, store manager of Preuss Pets.
The previous unofficial record was held by Travis Fessler, a 37-year-old member of the Pickled Brothers Sideshow, based in Kentucky, who fit nine of the hissing cockroaches into his mouth in October 2008.
Fessler did the stunt to promote a haunted house that benefited a charity called "Shop with a Cop," he said.
"I acknowledge that it was something silly I did, but it was for a charity and to bring attention to the show," he said.
Source: USA Today
