Junk Food Challenges & Extreme Eating
I Tried the 10,000 Calorie Junk Food Challenge (And Instantly Regretted It)
The 10,000 calorie challenge involves consuming an extreme amount of high-calorie junk food in one day. Participants often experience physical discomfort, nausea, and extreme lethargy, highlighting the body’s negative reaction to such excess.
Liam, a YouTuber, decided to attempt the 10,000 calorie junk food challenge. Hours in, surrounded by pizza boxes, chip bags, and candy wrappers, he felt incredibly sick and bloated. “This was a terrible idea,” he groaned to his camera, the initial thrill replaced by profound physical regret and a lesson learned about bodily limits.
The World’s Spiciest Chip Challenge: My Mouth (And Stomach) on Fire!
This challenge involves eating a single tortilla chip coated with extremely potent chili peppers like the Carolina Reaper. The intense pain, burning sensations, and potential for severe stomach upset make it a dangerous and often regretted experience.
Sarah, a self-proclaimed spice lover, tried the “One Chip Challenge.” The moment the chip hit her tongue, an inferno erupted. Tears streamed, her stomach churned, and relief seemed hours away. “My mouth is a volcano!” she gasped, realizing she’d severely underestimated the chip’s brutal heat. It was pure agony.
Eating ONLY Gas Station Junk Food For 24 Hours: A Survival Story
This challenge limits all food intake to items typically found in a gas station convenience store—highly processed snacks, sugary drinks, and packaged pastries. It often results in low energy, digestive issues, and a craving for fresh food.
For a video, Mark committed to eating only gas station junk food for 24 hours. By evening, fueled by roller hot dogs, sugary slushies, and endless bags of chips, he felt sluggish and queasy. “I’m surviving, but barely,” he admitted. “My body is screaming for a vegetable.” It was a grim culinary journey.
The Giant Gummy Bear Challenge: Can Anyone Actually Finish It?
This challenge involves attempting to eat an oversized gummy bear, often weighing several pounds and containing thousands of calories. The sheer volume of dense, sugary gelatin makes it an almost impossible and unpleasant feat for one person.
Chloe stared at the five-pound gummy bear. “This is the challenge?” she asked, incredulous. After an hour of determined chewing, she’d barely made a dent and felt a sugar-induced nausea. The giant gummy bear remained largely intact, a testament to its unfinishable, overwhelming sweetness and size.
Competitive Eaters: How Do They Eat So Much Junk Food (And Stay Thin)?
Competitive eaters use specific techniques like rapid swallowing, minimal chewing, and expanding their stomachs with water. Many also maintain rigorous fitness regimes and disciplined diets outside of competitions to manage weight and health.
David watched a competitive eating champion devour 50 hot dogs. “How do they do it and stay so slim?” he marveled. He later learned about their intense training: stomach-stretching exercises, specific eating techniques, and strict off-season diets, revealing a surprisingly disciplined athleticism behind the spectacle.
I Attempted the “Gallon of Milk” Challenge (Spoiler: It Didn’t End Well)
The gallon of milk challenge dares participants to drink an entire gallon of milk within one hour without vomiting. The human stomach typically cannot comfortably hold that much liquid, often leading to nausea and regurgitation.
Liam, on a dare, tried the gallon of milk challenge. Halfway through, his stomach protested violently. The sheer volume was overwhelming. “I don’t think I can…” he started, before inevitably, and unpleasantly, failing. The challenge lived up to its notorious reputation for ending poorly.
The Cinnamon Challenge REVISITED: Still a Terrible Idea?
The cinnamon challenge involves attempting to swallow a tablespoon of ground cinnamon without water. This is dangerous because cinnamon doesn’t dissolve easily and can be inhaled, causing choking, lung irritation, and even pneumonia. It remains a terrible idea.
Sarah remembered the cinnamon challenge from years ago. “Is it still as bad as they said?” she wondered, then watched a revisited video. The person coughed violently, eyes watering, unable to breathe properly. “Yep,” Sarah concluded, “still an incredibly dangerous and terrible idea. Don’t do it.”
Trying Every Item on the McDonald’s Dollar Menu in One Sitting
This challenge involves ordering and attempting to eat one of every item currently offered on McDonald’s (or a similar) value menu. The sheer volume of often fried and processed food typically leads to extreme fullness and discomfort.
Mark, for his food blog, decided to try every item on the McDonald’s Dollar Menu. Several burgers, fries, pies, and drinks later, he was slumped over the table, groaning. “So much beige food,” he mumbled. “The value is there, but my stomach is staging a protest.” It was a feat of quantity over quality.
The “Warheads Challenge”: Most Sour Candy Ever? My Face Says Yes.
The Warheads challenge involves eating multiple pieces of the extremely sour candy “Warheads” simultaneously or in quick succession to test one’s tolerance for intense sourness, often resulting in contorted facial expressions.
Chloe popped three Warheads candies into her mouth at once for the challenge. Her face immediately puckered, eyes watering, as an intense wave of sourness assaulted her taste buds. “Whoa!” she exclaimed, her expression a testament to the candy’s powerful, almost painful, acidity. Her face definitely said yes to “most sour.”
Eating the Biggest Pizza Slice in My City: Man vs. Food!
This challenge involves finding and consuming the largest single slice of pizza offered by a local establishment. It’s a test of appetite and endurance, often played up for entertainment.
David found a pizzeria advertising “The Colossus Slice” – a two-foot-long wedge of pizza. “Man versus food, here we go!” he declared, channeling his inner Adam Richman. Halfway through, the sheer volume of dough, cheese, and toppings made him question his life choices. He battled on, but the pizza was a formidable foe.
The “Baby Food Challenge” With a Junk Food Twist (Gross!)
This challenge typically involves taste-testing various baby foods. A “junk food twist” might involve trying to identify or consume unusual, processed, or unappetizing pureed versions of common junk foods.
Liam and his friends decided to try the “Baby Food Challenge” but with a twist: they pureed things like cold hot dogs and stale donuts. Blindfolded, Liam tasted a spoonful. “Ugh, what IS that? It’s sweet but…meaty?” he gagged. The junk food twist made an already dubious challenge even grosser.
I Lived Like a Competitive Eater for a Day: Training & Tactics
This involves attempting the training methods of competitive eaters, such as stomach expansion exercises (drinking large amounts of water), jaw strengthening, and practicing speed-eating techniques with large quantities of a single food type.
Sarah decided to “live like a competitive eater” for a day. She started by chugging water to stretch her stomach, then practiced rapidly eating soft bread. The jaw ache was real, and the sheer volume of food felt unnatural. “This is an extreme sport,” she concluded, respecting their dedication but not envious.
The Ghost Pepper Challenge: My Senses Under Attack
The Ghost Pepper challenge involves consuming a ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia), one of the world’s hottest chili peppers. The experience is characterized by intense, prolonged burning sensations, sweating, and often severe gastrointestinal distress.
Mark bit into a tiny piece of ghost pepper. An insidious, creeping heat quickly escalated into an all-out inferno in his mouth, throat, and stomach. Sweat poured, tears flowed, and hiccups ensued. “My senses are under full-blown attack!” he choked out, reaching desperately for milk. It was a brutal experience.
The “No Utensils” Junk Food Challenge: Making a Mess for Views
This challenge requires eating various, often messy, junk foods without using any utensils, relying solely on hands (and sometimes creative face-planting). The primary appeal is the humorous, messy spectacle.
Chloe and her roommate tried the “No Utensils Junk Food Challenge” with spaghetti, pudding, and a pie. Their kitchen quickly looked like a disaster zone, and they were covered head-to-toe. “This is purely for the messy entertainment value!” Chloe laughed, wiping pudding from her eyebrow.
Can I Eat a Foot-Long Hot Dog in Under a Minute?
This speed-eating challenge tests how quickly an individual can consume a standard foot-long hot dog, including the bun. It requires techniques like dunking the bun in water and swallowing large pieces quickly.
David, a fan of eating competitions, timed himself trying to devour a foot-long hot dog in under 60 seconds. He dunked the bun, took massive bites, and chewed frantically. He finished in 58 seconds, breathless and messy. “Possible,” he panted, “but not pretty!”
The “Mystery Wheel of Junk Food” Challenge: Spin to Win (or Lose Your Appetite)
Participants create a wheel with various junk foods (some appealing, some not) and spin it to determine what they must eat. The element of chance and potential for unappetizing combinations drives the challenge.
Liam spun the “Mystery Wheel of Junk Food.” It landed on “Pickles dipped in Chocolate Syrup.” He grimaced but took a bite. “Surprisingly… not as terrible as I thought it would be,” he admitted, though he wouldn’t be trying it again. The wheel’s unpredictability was the fun.
Eating Only Vending Machine Food for 3 Days: What I Learned
This challenge restricts diet to items solely available from vending machines for an extended period. It highlights the limited nutritional value, high cost, and monotony of such a diet, often leading to fatigue and cravings for real food.
Sarah documented her three days of eating only vending machine food. By day two, fueled by chips, candy bars, and stale pastries, she felt sluggish and irritable. “I’ve learned that convenience has a price,” she reflected, “and that price is my energy and well-being. I miss vegetables.”
The “Pound of Candy” Challenge: Sugar Rush or Sugar Crash?
This challenge involves attempting to eat an entire pound of candy in one sitting. The initial experience might be a sugar rush, but it’s typically followed by a severe energy crash, nausea, and general unwellness.
Mark unwrapped a pound of assorted gummy candies. “Here goes nothing!” he said, starting the challenge. Thirty minutes in, he felt a buzzing sugar rush, quickly followed by a wave of nausea and an overwhelming desire to sleep. The sugar crash was swift and brutal.
I Tried the “Mukbang” Trend: Eating Massive Amounts of Junk Food on Camera
Mukbang is a popular online trend where individuals broadcast themselves eating large quantities of food, often junk food, while interacting with viewers. It combines food entertainment with a social, vicarious experience.
Chloe set up her camera and a feast of fried chicken, pizza, and ramen for her first mukbang attempt. Eating and chatting with viewers was initially fun, but the sheer volume of food quickly became a struggle. “This is harder than it looks!” she admitted, understanding the performative endurance involved.
The “Expired Junk Food” Challenge: Is It Safe? (Probably Not)
This risky challenge involves consuming junk food items that are past their expiration or best-by dates. While some sealed, processed items might seem okay, there’s a significant risk of foodborne illness or unpleasant taste.
David found an old, sealed bag of chips from two years ago. “For science!” he declared, trying the “Expired Junk Food Challenge.” He took one bite, and his face contorted. “Stale, and tastes like cardboard. Definitely not safe, or enjoyable,” he concluded, wisely discarding the rest.
Recreating Famous Movie Eating Challenges with Junk Food
This involves emulating iconic eating scenes or challenges from movies, such as the “Cool Hand Luke” egg-eating scene, but often with a junk food twist (e.g., eating 50 donuts).
Liam decided to recreate the “pancake scene” from Uncle Buck, but with mini pizzas. He stacked them high and attempted to eat his way through. “It’s harder than it looks on screen!” he laughed, cheese and sauce everywhere. It was a fun, messy homage.
The “Super Size Me” Experiment: 30 Days of Fast Food Revisited
Inspired by Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, this involves consuming fast food for every meal for an extended period (e.g., 30 days) to observe the physical and mental health effects. It’s a personal exploration of a highly processed diet.
Sarah, curious about the long-term effects, decided to do a modified “Super Size Me” for one week, eating only fast food. By day five, she felt lethargic, her skin broke out, and she craved fresh food intensely. “Even a week is enough to feel the negative impact,” she reflected.
The “Left Hand Only” Junk Food Eating Challenge
This simple but frustrating challenge requires participants to eat various junk foods using only their non-dominant hand, leading to awkwardness, spills, and general messiness, providing humorous content.
Mark tried to eat a bowl of spaghetti and a drippy ice cream cone using only his left (non-dominant) hand. Sauce and ice cream ended up everywhere but his mouth. “This is so much harder than I thought!” he laughed, showcasing the hilariously clumsy results.
Eating the World’s Largest Commercially Available Burger
This challenge involves locating and attempting to consume an exceptionally large, commercially sold burger, often weighing multiple pounds and featuring numerous patties and toppings. It’s a test of extreme appetite.
Chloe found a local diner offering “The Juggernaut,” a ten-pound burger. She and two friends decided to tackle it. An hour later, defeated but amused, they barely made a dent. “This burger is truly a beast,” Chloe conceded, respecting its massive, unconquerable scale.
The “Blindfolded Junk Food Taste Test” Challenge
Participants are blindfolded and fed various junk foods, attempting to identify them by taste and texture alone. This often leads to surprising confusion and humorous guesses.
Liam blindfolded Sarah and fed her a series of mystery junk foods. “Is this… a Cheeto or a cheese curl?” she puzzled over one. “And this tastes like… purple?” she guessed on a grape candy. The challenge highlighted how much we rely on sight for food identification.
I Tried to Eat My Body Weight in (Healthy-ish) Junk Food Alternatives
A hyperbolic challenge playing on the “eat your body weight” trope, but with a focus on consuming a large volume of “healthier” alternatives to junk food, testing capacity and the limits of “healthy” indulgence.
Mark, half-jokingly, declared he’d eat his body weight in “healthy junk food.” He stocked up on kale chips, fruit leather, and baked sweet potato fries. While he didn’t literally reach his body weight, he ate an impressive volume, proving even “healthier” options have their limits when consumed en masse.
The “No Water” While Eating Spicy Junk Food Challenge
This challenge intensifies a spicy food experience by prohibiting the consumption of water or any other beverage for relief during or immediately after eating the spicy item.
Chloe decided to eat a plate of ghost pepper wings and attempt the “no water” rule. Each bite intensified the burn. Without water to soothe the flames, the experience was pure, unadulterated agony. “Never again,” she gasped, finally reaching for milk long after the challenge “ended.”
Junk Food Jenga: Can We Build It Higher? Can We Eat It All?
This playful challenge involves building a tower using various stackable junk food items (cookies, crackers, chocolate bars) Jenga-style. The goal is to build it high, and often, to eat the “blocks” as they are removed or when the tower collapses.
David and his kids played “Junk Food Jenga” with Oreos and chocolate wafers. They carefully built a wobbly tower. When it finally crashed, they giggled and dived in to eat the sugary debris. It was a fun, edible game combining construction and consumption.
The “Eat It or Wear It” Junk Food Challenge (Messy!)
Participants are presented with various, often unusual or unappetizing, junk food items. They must choose to either eat a portion or have it “worn” (smeared, poured) on them by another participant.
Liam faced a bowl of mayonnaise with sprinkles. “Eat it or wear it?” his friend challenged. Liam shuddered and chose “wear it.” A dollop was promptly smeared on his forehead. The challenge was all about gross-out humor and messy consequences.
Trying Discontinued Junk Foods People Sent Me: A Risky Taste Test
This involves sourcing and taste-testing rare, discontinued junk food items, often sent by viewers or found online. The appeal is nostalgia and curiosity, though there are risks associated with consuming very old food products.
Sarah’s subscribers sent her a box of discontinued 90s candies. “This is a risky taste test!” she said, unwrapping a fossilized-looking bubble gum. Some were surprisingly okay, others had definitely seen better decades. It was a strange, nostalgic, and slightly worrying culinary adventure.
The “One Color” Junk Food Challenge: Eating Only Red Foods for a Day
Participants restrict their diet for a day to only consuming foods of a specific color (e.g., red, blue, green), often leading to a bizarre and nutritionally unbalanced selection of junk food items.
Mark attempted the “One Color Red” junk food challenge. His meals consisted of red licorice, cherry soda, pepperoni pizza (mostly red toppings), and strawberry ice cream. “It’s visually striking but nutritionally terrifying,” he commented, missing other colors and food groups.
Eating All the Free Samples at Costco: A Junk Food Challenge?
While not an official “challenge,” some people attempt to make a “meal” out of the numerous free samples offered at warehouse stores like Costco, many of which are small bites of processed or junk food items.
Chloe jokingly called her Costco trip “The Free Sample Challenge.” She navigated the aisles, trying mini quiches, sausage bites, and tiny cups of juice. While not a balanced meal, she managed to get surprisingly full on the array of (often junky) bite-sized offerings.
The “Century Egg” Challenge (Okay, Not Junk Food, But Extreme!)
While not typically junk food, the century egg challenge involves eating a preserved duck egg with its distinctively strong ammonia-like smell and jelly-like, dark yolk. It’s an extreme eating challenge for those unaccustomed to it.
Liam, known for food challenges, faced the Century Egg. Its pungent aroma filled the room. He took a tentative bite. His face told the whole story of confronting such an unfamiliar and intensely flavored (though culturally significant) food. It was definitely an “extreme” taste experience.
Building the Tallest Ice Cream Cone Challenge
This challenge involves attempting to stack as many scoops of ice cream as possible onto a single cone before it topples, testing balance, speed (before it melts), and often leading to a messy, sugary collapse.
Sarah and her friends had a “Tallest Ice Cream Cone Challenge” at the beach. Scoop after scoop was precariously balanced. Sarah’s reached seven scoops before dramatically leaning and collapsing into a sugary puddle. Laughter and sticky fingers ensued.
The “Soda Chugging” Challenge: Brain Freeze Guaranteed
This challenge involves drinking a large quantity of soda as quickly as possible. It often results in intense “brain freeze” (sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia), burping, and stomach discomfort.
Mark attempted to chug a two-liter bottle of soda. Halfway through, the intense cold and carbonation hit him. “Brain freeze! Major brain freeze!” he yelped, clutching his head. The challenge was short-lived and ended with a fizzy, painful headache.
I Tried to Make a Gourmet Meal Out of ONLY Junk Food Ingredients
This creative challenge tasks someone with elevating common junk food ingredients (e.g., instant noodles, cheese puffs, candy bars) into a seemingly sophisticated, multi-course “gourmet” meal.
Chef Chloe took on the challenge: a three-course meal using only gas station junk food. She crushed chips for a “breadcrumb” coating, melted candy bars into a “sauce,” and artfully arranged processed cheese. The result was surprisingly creative, if humorously unappetizing to a true gourmet.
The “BeanBoozled” Jelly Bean Challenge: Horrible Junk Food Flavors
BeanBoozled jelly beans feature pairs of identical-looking beans: one tasty (e.g., peach) and one disgusting (e.g., barf). The challenge is the Russian Roulette of tasting, risking vile flavors.
Liam spun the BeanBoozled wheel and landed on a yellow jelly bean. “Is it buttered popcorn or rotten egg?” he wondered, popping it in. His immediate grimace confirmed “rotten egg.” The challenge was a hilarious gauntlet of potentially horrible junk food-inspired flavors.
Eating an Entire Box of Sugary Cereal (Dry) Challenge
This endurance challenge involves consuming an entire standard-sized box of sugary breakfast cereal without milk. The dryness and sheer volume of processed grains and sugar make it surprisingly difficult.
Sarah, for a dare, attempted to eat an entire box of “Sugar Puffs” dry. The first few handfuls were fine, but soon the dryness and overwhelming sweetness became a struggle. “My mouth feels like sandpaper coated in sugar,” she complained, far from finishing.
The “Pickle Juice Chug” Challenge: Why Do People Do This?
This challenge involves chugging a significant quantity of pickle brine. While some athletes use it for cramps, as a general challenge, the appeal lies in its quirky, slightly gross-out nature and the surprisingly intense salty, sour taste.
Mark watched a video of someone chugging pickle juice. “Why?” he muttered. The intense pucker on the challenger’s face, followed by a look of mild regret, didn’t make it seem appealing, yet the video had millions of views. Its bizarre nature was its main draw.
Trying the Hottest Hot Sauces on Plain Potato Chips: A Ladder of Pain
This challenge involves progressively trying hotter and hotter hot sauces, often using a plain potato chip as the vehicle. It’s a test of spice tolerance, escalating into a “ladder of pain.”
Chloe arranged five bottles of hot sauce, from “mild” to “scorpion pepper insanity.” Using plain chips, she worked her way up the heat ladder. By the fourth sauce, tears were streaming. “This is a true ladder of pain!” she gasped, bravely (or foolishly) reaching for the final bottle.
The “Raw Ramen Noodle” Challenge (Don’t Try This)
This ill-advised “challenge” involves eating uncooked, dry ramen noodles, sometimes with the seasoning packet. It’s hard on the teeth, difficult to digest, and generally unpleasant and potentially unsafe.
David saw a “Raw Ramen Noodle Challenge” online. Curious but cautious, he crunched a tiny piece of dry noodle. It was hard as a rock and tasted like nothing. “Okay, this is just a bad idea,” he concluded, understanding why warnings accompany such “challenges.”
Eating Only Foods Mentioned in a Specific Song/Movie (Often Junk Food)
This creative challenge involves curating a day’s meals based solely on food items mentioned in the lyrics of a chosen song or scenes from a movie, which often results in a heavy junk food diet.
Liam decided to eat only foods mentioned in “American Pie” by Don McLean for a day. This meant “whiskey and rye” (he chose ginger ale for rye) and “good old boys drinking whiskey and rye.” He realized most song-food challenges lean heavily on less-than-healthy choices.
The “No Thumbs” Junk Food Packaging Challenge
Participants attempt to open various types of junk food packaging (chip bags, candy wrappers, soda cans) without using their thumbs, highlighting the design of packaging and leading to humorous struggles.
Sarah tried the “No Thumbs” challenge. Opening a bag of chips using only her fingers was surprisingly difficult, resulting in a ripped bag and scattered chips. A soda can was impossible. “I have a newfound appreciation for my thumbs and easy-open packaging!” she laughed.
I Let My Instagram Followers Control My Junk Food Choices for a Day
In this interactive challenge, an individual allows their social media followers (via polls or comments) to dictate all their junk food choices for an entire day, often leading to unusual or excessive consumption.
Mark posted an Instagram poll: “Pizza or giant cookie for lunch?” His followers overwhelmingly chose both. All day, their votes led him on a wild junk food adventure, from bizarre topping combinations to excessive sugary drinks. “You all are trying to kill me!” he joked.
The “Extreme Sour Candy Gauntlet” Challenge
This challenge involves consuming a sequence of progressively more sour candies, testing the limits of an individual’s tolerance for extreme sourness, often involving multiple types of intensely acidic sweets.
Chloe faced the “Extreme Sour Candy Gauntlet”: Warheads, then Toxic Waste, then a sour spray, finishing with sour powder. Each stage was a new level of face-contorting agony. “My taste buds have officially surrendered!” she declared, tongue tingling, after completing the painful gauntlet.
Can I Finish a “Family Size” Bag of Chips By Myself in One Sitting?
This common personal challenge tests an individual’s capacity to eat an entire large, “family size” bag of potato chips in a single session. It’s a battle against satiety and the monotony of one flavor.
David sat down with a “family size” bag of his favorite chips and a movie. “Challenge accepted,” he thought. An hour later, with the movie ending and the bag nearly empty, he felt a mix of triumph and salty, greasy regret. “Yes, I can,” he concluded, “but should I?”
The “Pancake Art” Challenge with Junk Food Toppings
This creative challenge involves making “art” with pancake batter on a griddle, then decorating the creations with various junk food items like candies, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.
Liam and his daughter had a “Pancake Art Challenge.” They made pancake dinosaurs and stars, then went wild decorating them with M&Ms, gummy worms, and whipped cream. The results were colorful, sugary monstrosities, but the fun was in the creative, junky process.
Eating Junk Food While Upside Down Challenge (For Science?)
A bizarre and messy challenge where participants attempt to eat (or drink) junk food while hanging upside down, often leading to spills, choking hazards, and general hilarity due to gravity working against them.
Sarah, for a “science” segment on her channel, tried eating a powdered donut while hanging upside down from a bar. Powder went everywhere, and chewing was nearly impossible. “Conclusion: eating upside down is not efficient, or clean!” she laughed, coughing up sugar.
The “World’s Hottest Gummy Bear” Challenge: Tears Were Shed
This challenge involves eating a single, small gummy bear infused with exceptionally potent chili extract, similar to spicy chip challenges. It delivers an unexpectedly intense and painful heat experience.
Mark thought a gummy bear couldn’t be that hot. He popped the “World’s Hottest Gummy Bear” into his mouth. Within seconds, his eyes streamed, and a fiery pain exploded. “This innocent-looking bear is a demon!” he gasped, tears indeed being shed. The tiny candy packed a massive, painful punch.
My Doctor Reacts to Me Doing a Junk Food Challenge (Warning!)
This involves filming a doctor’s professional reaction and advice after being shown or told about participation in an extreme junk food eating challenge, usually highlighting the negative health implications.
Chloe showed her doctor a video of her 10,000 calorie challenge. Dr. Evans watched with a concerned expression. “Chloe,” she said gently, “while perhaps entertaining, this puts immense stress on your body – your heart, your pancreas, your digestion. This isn’t sustainable or safe.” The doctor’s reaction was a serious warning.