Joining a competition is such a fun activity. Through this, you can
gain friends and boost your self-esteem. And of course if you did well,
you can take home an award which often times corresponds to an amount of
money. But how about a contest for the most rotten and stinky sneaker?
They may seem disgusting and somehow embarrassing.
In New York, they have this kind of contest for children ages 5-15
which aims to promote a product that keeps feet and shoes comfortable,
dry and odor-free – the Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest.
On
March 25, contestants from around the country gathered at Ripley’s
Believe It or Not! in Times Square wearing their deteriorating shoes
which gained them regional recognition.
These
shoes were judged according to the odor: ”It’s not enough that the
sneakers repel me. They should make me feel faint…That’s the kind of
stink that takes home the gold,” one of the judges Rachel Herz, a Brown
University professor, said.
The
condition of the shoes: Another judge, Claudio Schapsis of Ripley’s
Believe It Or Not! Times Square shines a flashlight inside to check the
condition of the shoes.
The
child’s verbal account of why and how his/her sneakers are the
stinkiest: “I’ve had them for four years now. And I’ve really worn them
almost everyday. I even slept with them some nights, making it even
more stinkier,” one of the contestants, Jordan Armstrong, said.
12 year old Jordan Armstrong from White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, NM was declared to have the most stinkiest sneaker.
She was given the grand prize of $2,500…
two-night stay in New York City, tickets to the Broadway Show THE LION KING and the Golden Sneaker Award…
and supply of Odor-Eaters products to kick out the odor from her new sneakers.
Her rotten shoes will also be enshrined in Odor-Eaters “Hall of Fumes”.
