Thousand Nugget Thursday

Mark your calendars, and let it be known that January 24th, 2019 shall forever be, at least in the minds of 20 Enloe seniors, Thousand Nugget Thursday. What began as a small-scale operation between seniors Jack Thomas, Joe Lingo, and Ellis Kay quickly escalated into an almost cult-like ritual in the parking lot behind the football stadium during second lunch.

Jack Thomas was the original inspiration. On Tuesday, January 22nd, he proposed his plan to Joe Lingo: 1000 nuggets in one place at one time, and Lingo, eager to make history, immediately got on board. Lingo said, “The speed at which the plan came together was unprecedented. It just goes to show how people with a dream can do anything.”

To begin, the logistics. In total, there were 1000 Burger King Nuggets, priced at a terrifyingly-cheap $0.10 a nugget. Collectively, the nuggets contained 6 pounds of carbohydrates, 6.5 pounds of fat, 4.4 pounds of protein, and a whopping (no pun intended) 43,000 calories. The nuggets were accompanied by an arrangement of sauces, from Moroccan Barbecue to Ranch. Each participant was charged with eating 50 nuggets in 45 minutes, and the proper sauce, many claimed, was an absolute necessity to achieve such an aim.

And achieve it they would. Seniors Vayun Agrawal, Zakai McKenzie, and Trevor Jonich all met the goal. One of the principal organizers and the original inspiration behind Thousand Nugget Thursday, Jack Thomas, wolfed down 61 nuggets. Thomas said, “All I could think about was eating the next nugget.” Thomas continued, “But when I hit 60, it felt like I was Sisyphus and I had found the boulder sitting still on the mountaintop. I could finally stop.”

Onlookers, curious about the uproarious laughter and crowd in the parking lot, investigated the gastronomic gathering. As many struggled to reach their 50-nugget goal, passersby and others became the recipients of left-over nuggets. By 12:25, most of those involved had hit their limit, groaning with discomfort as their stuffed stomachs ached. Nevertheless, the journey was worth it. Senior Ellis Kay continued the mountain metaphor, “It was a tough trek up a sodium mountain. But we did it, and it was glorious.”

There are, of course, questions concerning the future of Thousand Nugget Thursday. It was a serendipitous and spontaneous event with little advance notice or promotion. So, does this mean there will never be another Thousand Nugget Thursday? How would one even know there would be a Thousand Nugget Thursday before it happened? The inconvenient truth: nobody knows. Jack Thomas hinted, however, at a possible sequel, “I would do it again. I would do 70.”