When life gives you lemons, some may try to make lemonade. But others compete to find out how quickly they can eat them. In late September, posters appeared around campus advertising the 3rd Annual Lemon Eating Competition. On October 4, 2026, participants were tasked with eating an entire lemon whole—rind and all.
About 30 RPI students gathered to compete. After a photo finish, two competitors were crowned victorious: Parker Matzen ’28 and Ricky Zarkoski ’28. Their reward? The remaining lemons that were purchased by the event's organizer, John Shaughnessy ’26, ’27G. Shaughnessy organized the original event in 2024 and will be passing the mantle on for next year’s event.
