I sat staring in disbelief at the largest bowl of ice cream I’d ever seen, wondering how on Earth anyone could finish this in six minutes and 40 seconds. I wanted nothing more than to accomplish the challenge and earn back the $20 I had paid to participate. I looked at the massive bowl full of different ice cream flavors, ranging from vanilla to chocolate to even a sorbet, all mixed with toppings of hot fudge, chocolate and caramel. I knew I was about to take on a very difficult challenge.
Johnson’s Real Ice Cream boasts to have one of the biggest ice cream challenges in Columbus. The challenge includes eight scoops of ice cream, eight different toppings, a tall mound of whipped cream, a handful of cherries and the real kicker: three whole bananas. To win the challenge, one must finish the whole thing in less than six minutes and 40 seconds.
I started the challenge with lots of confidence. I felt that I could definitely eat most, if not all, of the ice cream in one sitting. I was quickly proved wrong about that—after getting through the huge pile of whipped cream and cherries, I finally got to the actual ice cream. After eating just the first spoonful, I knew that there was absolutely no way that I was going to come close to finishing it in time.
Once the bananas started to seep into the ice cream and caused everything else in the bowl to start tasting like bananas, I knew I could not complete the challenge. I do not like the taste of bananas as it is, let alone in my ice cream. So, I was forced to give up on the challenge after only a couple of bites. When it was over, the worst part had just started: the ice cream felt like a rock in my stomach and wrecked my appetite for the rest of the night.
