National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest prompts question: Why do we have stinky feet? [INTERVIEW]
By Michelle Tompkins-On March 22, 2018
Odor Eaters
Dr. Rachel Herz tells us why our feet stink so much
Dr. Rachel Herz is a neuroscientist and leading world expert on the psychological science of smell and for the last eleven years, she has had the honor of being the judge in the annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest.
This annual event to determine the grossest kids' sneakers took place on March 21 at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Times Square where the six finalists from across the country, ages eight to fifteen, fought to see who had the stinkiest, most disgusting sneaker. The winner was eight-year-old, Hunter Hamm, from Eagle River, Arkansas.
Hunter Hamm winner National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest
All children from 3-15 are illegible to enter the Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest. Local contests were held all over the country and the winner of each local event got a trip to New York City and the chance to compete for the $2500 prize.
The sneakers are judged on odor, condition and the kid’s verbal account of why and how his/her sneakers are the worst.
2018 Rotten Sneaker
Since 1990, Dr Herz has been a leading mind regarding the research on the sense of smell, emotion, perception, motivated behavior and cognition. She has written many books including The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell, That’s Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion and Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food.
Dr. Rachel Herz, who was joined by winner Hunter Hamm, spoke with Michelle Tompkins for TheCelebrityCafe.com about her work, why our feet smell, gave details about National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest, how the winner was determined, how we can keep our feet less stinky and more.
See the full interview here:
National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest will take place again next year. Learn more here.
Michelle Tompkins is an award-winning media, PR and crisis communications professional with more than ten years experience with coverage in virtually every traditional and new media outlet. She is currently a communications and media strategist and writer, as well as the author of College Prowler: Guidebook for Columbia University. She served as the Media Relations Manager for the Girl Scouts of the USA where she managed all media and talking points, created social media strategy, trained executives and donors and served as the organization’s primary spokesperson, participating in daily interviews with local, regional, and national media outlets. She managed the media for the Let Me Know internet safety and Cyberbullying prevention campaign with Microsoft, as well as Girl Scouts’ centennial Year of the Girl To Get Her There celebration in 2012, which yielded more than 800 million earned media impressions. In addition to her extensive media experience, Michelle worked as a talent agent in Los Angeles, California, as well contracting as a digital content developer and her writing has appeared in newspapers and online. She is passionate about television, theater, classic movies, all things food and in-home entertaining. While she has lived and worked in NYC for more than a decade, she is from suburban Sacramento and gets back there often to watch the San Francisco Giants on TV with her family.