A Canadian hotel and bar just got a little less weird after a man drank -- and digested -- the bar's famed severed human toe.
A long-standing tradition among patrons at the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City has been to put a mummified human toe in a drink before quickly downing the alcohol. Dating back to the 1970s, the tradition is a welcoming gimmick for outsiders, and even comes with a certificate of accomplishment, The Star reported.
The "sourtoe" as patrons call it, is black, wrinkled and leathery, mummified in salt before being dunked in drinks.
But you're not supposed to swallow the toe, like a man known only as "Josh from New Orleans" did. There's a $500 fine set for anyone who dares digest the digit, but Josh was ready to pay up. He reportedly took the toe in a glass of whiskey, slurped down the toe, and slammed $500 in cash on the bar before casually walking away.
"I said, 'Where's the toe? and he said, 'I swallowed it'...I was shocked," Bar worker Terry Lee told the Canadian Press.
Brodie McCrory, who works the front desk at the Downtown Hotel, said Josh had decided to leave town and was given his rent deposit back. Apparently, that deposit went toward the sourtoe.
Josh Martin, a Downtown Hotel regular, said he has tried the sourtoe challenge.
“The whiskey was the only thing I could taste but the toe was like a leathery piece of jerky — with a toenail attached to it,” Martin said.
While the bar owners and residents search for a new severed toe to come their way, Lee said the deterrent fine for swallowing the severed toe will be raised to $2,500. Perhaps they should make their own toes, like these frighteningly-realistic severed toe cookies.
Related
Before You Go
