By: Teresa Gong
“Is there any chance that none of you saw that?” Taylor Swift asked. “It’s fine, it’s all, it’s — I’ve swallowed it.”
During her recent sold-out Eras tour performance, Swift experienced a coughing fit after she swallowed an uninvited bug. Despite the unexpected incident, she handled it gracefully, even jokingly declaring it to be a "delicious snack."
“So I’m just gonna try not to do as many of those,” she said after she stopped coughing. “This is gonna happen again tonight. There’s so many bugs. There’s a thousand of them. Anyway, this has been fun.”
Videos of the incident went viral on social media, as fans commented on the bug's encounter with Swift. One fan remarked “Can you believe A BUG went to the eras tour AND met Taylor Swift and I DIDN'T????”.
However, this incident shows a common experience shared by both Swift and regular people: the consumption of bugs. Insects are always in our lives, and accidentally swallowing them through breathing or food is not uncommon. According to Jerome Grant, an entomology professor at the University of Tennessee, most bugs are harmless and provide nothing more than additional protein.
It is difficult to estimate the exact amount of bugs people consume regularly. Some research suggests that we may eat up to one or two pounds of insects per year, which Grant finds implausible. Additionally, reports of people unintentionally inhaling large quantities of bugs while sleeping are unconfirmed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture clarifies that the rumored estimates of 1 or 2 pounds of insect consumption annually are exaggerated, stating that accidental consumption throughout one's lifetime is more realistic. The FDA's "Food Defect Levels Handbook" outlines acceptable limits for insect fragments and other contaminants in various foods.
While accidental ingestion of insects can occur, many people worldwide deliberately eat them as part of their diet. In the case of Americans like Swift, inhaling a bug is rare, and individuals are usually aware when it happens. Grant says that he has experienced inhaling bugs a few times in a year. Outdoor activities, such as biking or operating lawn mowers, increase the chances of encountering bugs. Places with bright lights, like baseball games or outdoor concerts, also attract insects.
Grant praises Swift for her calm and humorous response to the bug incident. “She didn’t overreact,” he says. “She made a joke and even turned it into something positive for her fans.” And he notes that Swift appears to have survived the ordeal without missing a beat. “She seems just fine now!”