Southfield (WWJ) -- Lots of people get their 15 minutes of fame and a Lansing pet store employee is getting his share for stuffing live cockroaches into his mouth. But not just any old cockroaches, two and a half inch long Madagascar cockroaches.
Sean Murphy, of Preuss Pets, stuffed 16 live cockroaches in his mouth in an attempt to set a Guinness World Records and get publicity for his pet store. He practiced several times before attempting the record.
"You know the first time I tried it, it was a little gross. I had a pretty bad gag reflex after putting like three of them in my mouth. But it's really weird. It's one of those things that got easier each time," said Murphy.
So this begs the question: Why?
"Mainly just because I knew I could beat the record. And, I love my job and I love the store I work at. The store's been around for 25 years in the Lansing area and there's still some people who don't know about it," said Murphy.
"So I figured this would be a good opportunity for people to learn about our store and all the things that we do for animals and our conservation efforts."
So how does it feel to have live cockroaches in his mouth?
"They can't bite or anything like that, but they do have barbs on their legs which do kind of hurt a little. That was the only thing I really had to worry about. Other than that, there's no safety issues involved with it," said Murphy.
Murphy tells WWJ his co-workers are proud of him. But what about his fiance, Holly?
"She was glad to see me follow through on it, and do something for the store. But she's pretty grossed out by it."
Murphy will have to wait and see if Guinness will certify that he has the new world record. If not, he'll keep trying.
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