There’s a little-known rite of passage in the world of Boy Scouts that separates the boys from the dehydrated boys hunched over a questionable latrine—it’s called Merit Badge University. It’s a magical gathering of hopeful young scouts, clipboard-wielding adult leaders, and a buffet of overly ambitious merit badge opportunities, all crammed into one Saturday with cafeteria pizza and the scent of Axe body spray hanging in the air, if your lucky. More likely, its just 12 year old BO!
It’s the kind of place where dreams are made and gastrointestinal systems are ruined.
If you cannot see where I am heading today, its going to deal with gross food challenges.
I went in with the wide-eyed optimism of a 12-year-old ready to conquer obscure badges like Nuclear Chemistry, Architecture, or Bugling (which, let’s be honest, nobody actually earns). But instead of filling my sash with hard-to-get accolades, I found myself in an unaccredited extracurricular program—”Advanced Dumb Dares 101,” led by my fellow middle school masterminds.
The curriculum was simple: “Do something dumb and see who lasts the longest.” And like the proper geniuses we were, we decided to create our own badge: Soda Resilience.
The challenge? Chugging the Dr. Pepper we purchased at the Food Lion during lunch break.
Now let me pause here and say, at the time, I loved Dr. Pepper. We were besties. I drank it like water (because actual water was for suckers). But by hour three of Merit Badge U, someone brought in a two-liter bottle… and someone else doubled down. Before I knew it, I had four liters lined up like bad decisions at a frat party for 13-year-olds.

You know that scene in action movies when the hero realizes they’ve made a grave mistake, but it’s too late? That was me, halfway through bottle number three, surrounded by a gaggle of cheering tween idiots, one of whom had already thrown up in the fake tree after his own horrendous badge… Taco Bell Hot Sauce over load, A delightful game of putting somewhere around 45 of the hottest taco bell sauce packets into your stomach.
I don’t remember much of the following hours, just that I spent a full two hours doing my best impression of a Civil War cannon. Every five minutes, a staffer would poke his head into the bathroom to make sure I hadn’t gone to meet Lord Baden-Powell in person.
To this day, when I see a can of Dr. Pepper, my body shudders. My brain flashes back to that sticky, over-syruped taste and my stomach contracts in a PTSD spasm of teenage regret. It’s like Pavlov’s dogs—but instead of a bell, it’s carbonation.
The moral of the story is this: Pre-teens need adult supervision at all times. Not sometimes. Not just when they’re near sharp objects or matches. At. All. Times. Because whatever part of the brain says, “Hey buddy, maybe don’t drink a gallon of liquid sugar in a hot school gymnasium?”—yeah, that part doesn’t form until like 25 or 37.
So next time you hand your kid a soda, just remember: you might be holding the first ingredient in a very stupid science experiment. Only you can prevent another Dr Pepper incident… and I suggest you do.
Hope today’s a fizzy one,
austininva