TIFU by eating music festival alligtor
My girlfriend and I finally got the chance to go to Warped Tour. We both have always wanted to go but never got the chance to. We saw it was heading to Washington, DC so we bought tickets and make it happen.
Sunday morning, we ran in at open and went straight for food before the first act. The options were pretty standard except one, “Alligator on a stick”. I’ve never had alligator. I’ve never even thought about it before. But something about the energy of Warped made me think “Why not? Lets try something new”. If I liked it, cool. If not, lesson learned.
It wasn’t awful. It had a fun texture, tasted different, I didn’t hate it. I finished the whole stick and we moved on with our day at the festival. We had a blast. After the show, we grabbed McDonalds and headed back to the hotel. I ate some nuggets and drank some sweet tea and passed out around 11PM.
Then 12:45 AM hit
I woke up shaking, sweating, and freezing all at the same time. My chest was super tight and nearly felt like it was pulsating. My vision was shot, everything was spinning, and I stumbled to the bathroom and immediately started throwing up. Nugget chunks, acid, and alligator meat ricocheted off the hotel trash can like it was trying to escape back to wildlife. I was crying, snot flying everywhere. It was terrible.
I thought it was done, but that was only wave one.
Round two hit and it came from the other end. It was so violent it nearly had enough pressure to lift me off the toilet bowl. I didn’t even have to try. No pushing was involved at all. It was just straight hose level consistency and wouldn’t stop.
This went on all night. No sleep, no breaks, every 5-10 minutes back to back in the bathroom. Everytime I opened my mouth, a thick grayish brown liquid came spewing out. I haven’t thrown up in years before this so I was freaking out feeling like I was going to drown myself. Anything i gasped for air it would trigger my gag even more and start it all over again.
Checkout was at noon. By 11 AM, I was still fighting the gator, hunched over the bin and praying for it all to stop. I called front desk, barely able to get words out without gagging, and had them extend our stay another night. I couldn’t walk, let alone drive 3 hours home. Even if my girlfriend drove, I would’ve destroyed that car within 15 minutes.
Of course I only packed clothes for the original trip. My “drive home” outfit was wrecked. Vomit, spit, tears, and the rest. My girlfriend drove to Walmart and grabbed me clean clothes and meds, thank god.
After all this was finally seeming to die down, the dehydration hit.
I couldn’t drink water without it coming right back up x3. I couldn’t see straight, standing felt like tryign to balance on a beam a mile up, everything was fuzzy and cloudy. Every time I dozed off, I had the same dream. There was a floating marble obelisk watching over me. It was start swaying. Slowly, then faster, then harder, until it eventually slammed horizontally. When it slammed down sideways, I would instantly wake up and rush to the bathroom ready to explode once more. This went on for what felt like ages.
So if you ever go to a music festival, please don’t get the “Alligator on a stick” from a random popup tent. It’s not worth it. There’s nothing in the world that would make it worth it. I lost 15 pounds in two days, I’m still recovering, and I’m not scared to eat meat. The thought of chewing anything close to meat makes my stomach flip.
TLDR: Tried “Alligator on a stick” at Warped Tour in DC to be adventurous. Regretted it deeply. by midnight, I was violently puking and shitting my soul out every 5-10 minutes. Had to extend our hotel stay because I wouldn’t walk, drove, or exist for more than 5 minutes at a time. Got so dehydrated I couldn’t walk straight anymore and starting dreaming of floating marble obelisks that watched over me and woke me up when it was time to die in the bathroom again. Also lost 15 pounds in 2 days. Don’t eat mystery gator at music festivals.
Comments
Too much time passed. You more than likely got sick from the McDonalds, and not the gator.
It was blatantly the Maccy-dees…
Seems just as likely (if not more) that it was the McDonalds, not the gator.
See ya later, alligator.
It wasn’t the alligator
That is the longest most detailed description of a bout of food poisoning I’ve seen. Yup, it absolutely sucks. Never order meat on a stick that couldn’t be local and came from a tent. Florida restaurants do have some decent alligator, however.
Fast food sweet tea was a bold choice at nearly midnight.
Pro tip for such instances: have some “Mortons lite salt” in your cupboard (it is 1/2 sodium chloride, 1/2 potassium chloride). Mix a 1/2 teaspoon in a liter of water and it will keep you hydrated far better than water. It’s basically just oral rehydration salt, it’s great for long days of exercise too.
You ate McDonald’s and are blaming alligator meat for getting you sick!?
💯 it was Mickey-D’s that gave you the food poisoning.
Never had food poisoning or noro virus from gator.
My go to for rehydration is “kinderlyte” raspberry lemonaide.
Sounds like you got the norovirus.
In my experience, food poisoning hits pretty quickly. I think it’s more likely the McDonald’s that did you in.
Yea, eating any meat on a stick at ‘the Warped Tour in DC’ sounds like a really, really bad idea. That said: I’m putting in my request for the Floating Obelisk Guardian (or FOG) to watch over me. Sounds like a chill obelisk.
Two hours is about the right gestation time for certain food borne illnesses. The ex and I did the same thing at a chicken place once. Two hours later neither of us could really figure out which end to put in the toilet.
Usually Alligator is quite tasty
You cant blame the gator meat, you ALSO had McDonalds. You couldve gotten food poisioning from either one.
I’m really regretting reading this while eating dinner😬. This sounds horrendous, and I’ll take your advice to heart. No alligator on a stick for me! Feel better soon.
This sounds a lot more like the Norovirus to me. I got that as I was boarding a 6.5 hour flight to Los Angeles…worst experience of my fucking life…
Food poisoning symptoms might not appear for up to 3 days. How would you know what caused it?
Alligator MUST be cooked well done due to the fact the meat has so much bacteria in it. I wouldn’t eat it if you paid me and I live in Florida
Possibly weregator, mississipiensis garou. Next full moon will confirm.
Had this happen in Arizona. But with sushi.
It wasn’t the alligator per se. It was the food poisoning. Could have happened just as easily with a kebab.
Dawg, that’s not alligator, that’s norovirus!
It would have hit earlier if it was the gator
I literally had this same reaction to McDonalds in 2015…haven’t eaten it since.
People don’t realize how bad food poisoning can be. I got sick in Dublin and couldn’t get my body upright for two days. Like hunched over to go to the restroom. Ruined most of our trip.
Yeah Mickey D’s fucked you up, not the gator.
I really don’t know that you can blame that solely on the Gator Stick
I’m sorry OP, that sounds horrific. Pretty much exact same story as my last food poisoning a few years ago. I was lucky and was at home but I stayed with the toilet for like 16 hours. Even brought the iPad in to stream in the corner.
We’re you on acid? That sounds insanely terrible
as an ER doc – the timing fits with McDonald’s fyi
as an ER doc – the timing fits with McDonald’s fyi
Sounds like both of my trips to peru tbh 😂
Also dont eat street arepas in Colombia late at night, worst food poisoning ever.
I had salmonella poisoning once and it sounds a lot like this. Delayed response. Sick as a dog for a week. Went to ER twice with no help. Got a call from the health department when I got back to work doing contact tracing. Most likely chicken prep on a cutting board later used to serve salmon at a BBQ.z
I was so tempted to get the gator. Got a grilled cheese and fries instead for $20.
Oh, and sweet tea from McDonald’s…It was probably sitting around all day after being “fresh” brewed.
Don’t blame the gator
The timing makes me think it was actually the mcds- I experienced this in thailand after eating half a chicken sandwich at the airport before realizing the interior was raw.
Made myself puke 5 mins after but to no avail, started having the shits an hr later on the flight and 3 hrs later when we were in our villa I was shitting/vomiting every 20mins. Was sick for like 2 full days after and got to do nothing other than lay in bed.
I had it so bad, I needed an IV because of dehydration and arrhythmia. Couldn’t fart safely for a week. Even sleeping at night…it was like Trainspotting and I only knew when the spouse woke me.
That sounds like it was the old tea. That tea was not fresh and likely sat there for hours, spoiling. Probably the McDonalds in general. Doubt it was the gator with how long that timeframe was.
Idk man, I got salmonella so bad from mcds chicken that I ended up with salmonella-induced arthritis in my hands. I was barfing so hard that it made me shit myself.
The only music festivals you should eat alligator at are in Louisiana…maybe Houston.
My friend tried to convince me to eat the alligator on a stick. I’m so glad I’m not adventurous. Warped was sick tho
It’s far more likely the McDonalds turned you into a two way hose.
Why you throwing up in the bin and not the toilet?
Tbh food poisoning usually takes 24-36 hours to set in, so it’s typically 3 meals ago, not the last thing you ate 🙃 but people usually associate the last thing they had bx that’s how our brains work
Why do you think it was the alligator instead of the McDonald’s?
I wonder what you actually ate. Highly doubt anyone is selling gator at a festival in DC.
I feel like there would be more posts about it on the Warped Tour sub if it was the alligator that made you ill. Surely you wouldn’t be the only one. There was one post about someone getting sick from eating that, and the story sounds identical to yours, so perhaps that was your girlfriend who posted. Maybe it was from the poop tiles. Lol. At any rate, it really sucks to end a fun weekend that way. I hope you’re feeling a little better now.
Are you sure it wasn’t the McD’s?
By chance Was it called Outback Kate’s? Older Blond Australian lady serving burritos and kababs?
My brother and I went to see Tim Dillon and he has a whole bit on chain steak houses, so we ate at one before the show. We shared everything, had the same drink. I ate the hollandaise and he did not. The next day was Easter and I was violently ill, it was so awful that I only remember it as a thing that happened and not of the projectile vomiting and hours spent half asleep on the potty. I do remember sweating and shaking in bed.
My favorite part was when I contacted the restaurant to let them know to throw out the hollandaise as I did not want anyone else to suffer. Within ten minutes of my email, the restaurant responded! They interviewed everyone who was working that night, and knew without reservations that there was no way that this could have been contaminated and they followed every health code and specifically temperatures were checked and it was kept properly. I was pretty surprised they got the email, read it, interviewed everyone and emailed me back, on Easter morning, in 10 minutes
Ive eaten alligator before but i wouldn’t do it in DC. They don’t exactly have alligators in DC outside of maybe a zoo
15 lbs you say…. 🤔
“Food poisoning” is a general term that can refer to a bunch of specific infections. Some can start causing symptoms within minutes-to-hours, some take much longer. You’ll probably never know with certainty what the culprit was. Please be watchful as you rehydrate. Your electrolytes are all fucked up, and will take a while to stabilize. If you experience neurological symptoms (difficulty moving, trouble staying awake, vision problems, excruciating headache, etc), get to a hospital, as those are warning signs of an imbalance that is potentially life-threatening. This stuff is no joke.
That was the McDonald’s
It honestly sounds like you had heat exhaustion/sunstroke, not food poisoning.
Enterogermina has saved me in situations like this.
that wasn’t the gator after 12 hours my man, it was the mcdonalds.
I had food poisoning like this once and it also happened to me during a hotel stay. At Christmas no less. To add insult, the next day my hair dryer sparked and I lost a lock of hair on the round brush.
I’m glad you survived but damn if it didn’t have me begging for sweet mercy in the throes of that possession.
From the post title, I was expecting a story of someone getting really fucked up at a music festival and eating the mascot.
Pro tip: Don’t eat food from a stand or even a restaurant that doesn’t have high turn over. It’s likely spoiled.
definitely recommend a hospital visit for fluids
in November I had some stomach bug (docs never pinpointed what exactly) with super similar symptoms. it was maybe every 15-30 mins, couldn’t even keep water down. started around 7pm, called off work at 430am, had someone throw me in a car and take me to the ER. by that time I was so dehydrated I had terrible charlie horses in both legs and could barely even crawl from the couch to the toilet.
I got two bags of fluids + some other minerals and stuff, and had a 4? 5? day stay in the hospital to monitor because turns out you can vomit so much you can tear holes in your lungs lmao
This sounds like a hospital visit moment
those weird sick dreams are so weird and I think they are part of why I have a big phobia of stomach viruses and the like. I think I got traumatized by being sick as a kid
Why are you giving the McDonald’s a pass on also potentially being the culprit?
I very much suspect it was the gator on a stick but it may have been some other item you ate. It certainly had the markers of food poisoning and a bad case at that. If you are at the dreaming stage, I would have suggested hospital for IV and other treatment. People have died at that stage.
Did any OPs friends get sick or people at Warp tour get sick the same way and similar symptoms? That’s horrible OP. Get better
Just get the water in your mouth, under your tongue. And spit it out. You don’t have to swallow if it will make you sick. By getting your tongue wet, you will ingest some water sublingually without having to swallow. Repeat til you feel a lil better. 🩷
It could have been anything to be honest. Caught something from the porta potties, the McDonald’s, something you ate the day before. But glad you got better.
Give gator another shot if you get the chance.
If it keeps up your intestines can become irritated to the point that the nerve endings cause your body to reject everything. The Dr can give you something to drink that will calm your nerves. This level of dehydration can be very bad.
Yoooo I made this mistake as a teen eating alligator in Baltimore! Rule of thumb don’t eat alligator in places they don’t live! (Had some years later in Louisiana no problem!)
Don’t blame the alligator; blame the food prep and handling.
Alligator is like chicken white meat; mild and easily overwhelmed by whatever sauces/spices/coatings are used. It’s innocuous. But, like chicken, if you store, prep, or serve it improperly or with contaminated hands/utensils, people gonna barf.
Timeline sounds more like it was the McDonald’s than the gator. Food poisoning will kick in pretty quick. With almost 2 hours between eating nuggies, and barfing nuggies…. Nuggies are the most likely culprit. Just saying
No, you had norovirus on a stick. Alligator shouldn’t be weird, its basically like chicken. Something was def wrong with that alligator.
I took my nieces to Warped Tour in 2015, and the alligator stand was there as well. I tried it, but wasn’t impressed. I didn’t get sick though. Im sorry you had to experience that.
It wasn’t the gator, it would’ve hit you a lot sooner. Was the McDonalds or norovirus.
This was for sure norovirus. My son and I had it this past February. Worst sickness I’ve ever had in my entire life. Do not recommend.