At Purdue University, people were given the opportunity to handle, eat and spit a varity of bugs

April 18, 1999
Web posted at: 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (CNN) -- College students may not spend as much time stuffing telephone booths or swallowing goldfish as they once did, but Purdue University at least has the Bug Bowl.

The 15,000 who gathered for Purdue's two-day Bug Bowl had the opportunity to cheer cockroach races, visit a bug petting zoo and even eat fried worms.

"The basic goal is that they learn something about the role of insects in nature, how important they really are to the stability of nature, also how they play an important role in terms of our art and literature or whatever," says entomology professor Tom Turpin.

The highlight of the event was the cricket spitting contest. The bug that contestants spit must be alive, and it must go a long way to win. The current record, sanctioned by the Guinness Book of Records, is 32 feet, 1 1/4 inches.

Reuters contributed to this report.