Can't. Stop. Chewing.

May 16, 2006 1:57 PM

"...to me it is like finding Jesus," if Jesus were crunchy, wet and cold, that is. This, and other tales of what will no doubt be America's next popular reason for medication, therapy and loss of productivity, can be found at The Ice Chewers Bulletin Board.
posted by Framer (39 comments total)

Wow! This is amazing. I chew ice like crazy, and I have a genetic anemia (beta thalassemia minor), but I had no idea they could be related.
posted by nekton at 2:02 PM on May 16, 2006

Weird. The guy goes by diantetics_whale. Wonder if he meant dianetics?
posted by Lverner at 2:02 PM on May 16, 2006

Jesus has a myspace page. Perhaps you could discuss ice chewing with him there.
posted by augustweed at 2:05 PM on May 16, 2006

What makes the best ice? I'm thinking...water?
posted by Lverner at 2:05 PM on May 16, 2006

Ok I am up to about 8 pounds of ice a day. 1 bag and a half of penguin ice. I fell really puffy and dont know what is going on with me.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 2:10 PM on May 16, 2006

I love this site. I am an ice-chewer par excellence. If there is ice in my vicinity then that ice is gonna get chewed. It is more than a compulsion, it is a mission. A mission from God. I was put on this earth to chew ice, and woe to any ice that gets within my reach, because it is destined to soon be shards of its former self melting in my belly. I love the sound of crunching in the morning.
posted by ND¢ at 2:14 PM on May 16, 2006

On preview, that guy has me beat.
posted by ND¢ at 2:14 PM on May 16, 2006

ice chewing makes my teeth hurt.
posted by rxrfrx at 2:18 PM on May 16, 2006

It's called Pagophagia

It's a form of Pica

I don't go out of my way to chew ice, but if I drink something that has ice in it, I'll chew all the ice that's left over. I think of it more as a nervous thing than anything else, though.
posted by empath at 2:20 PM on May 16, 2006

weird. i was a rabid ice chewer growing up, but i guess i grew out of it. i was never quite this crazy about it, tho.
posted by gnutron at 2:35 PM on May 16, 2006

Mrs. Bubba chews ice like there's no tomorrow--or at least like there's no ice tomorrow. I thought she was extreme until spending a few moments with these folks. She's really just a skin-popper as it were.
posted by beelzbubba at 2:36 PM on May 16, 2006

Thank you, empath, for bringing the term "emetophagia" to my attention through your horrible pica link.
posted by boo_radley at 2:44 PM on May 16, 2006

Anemics, the lot of 'em. They should start a wall-licker forum, too.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 2:49 PM on May 16, 2006

I don't mind chewing some ice myself, but godamn it is annoying when other people do it. A guy with whom I used to share a cube wall would chew ice all the time and it drove me nuts.
posted by mullacc at 2:49 PM on May 16, 2006

is this for real?
posted by jcruelty at 3:03 PM on May 16, 2006

I don't mind chewing some ice myself, but godamn it is annoying when other people do it. A guy with whom I used to share a cube wall would chew ice all the time and it drove me nuts.

I've been an ice chewer since I was very young and it drove my mother batshit. Everytime I would start to chew she'd take the cup away from me. It used to piss me off until I spent some time in Girl Scouts with someone who did it. God it's an annoying sound. From then on, I was strictly a behind-closed-doors ice-chewer.
posted by LeeJay at 3:05 PM on May 16, 2006

Anyone else miss restaurants that served crushed ice in their drinks? About the only place that does it anymore is Sonic fast food chain.

Mmmmm, cherry lime-ade.
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:09 PM on May 16, 2006

I enjoy chewing ice. I don't see how it could be considered odd, if we're supposed to drink water why is it strange to consume water in it's solid form?

These guys seem a little nuts about it, though.
posted by delmoi at 3:32 PM on May 16, 2006

In the thread topic "Sonic ice" there's quite a bit of excitement about Sonic selling it by the bag. Sexy.
posted by xod at 3:34 PM on May 16, 2006

Mmmmm, cherry lime-ade.

Cruel, heartless bastard. The nearest Sonic to Seattle is in Boise. And it's 80 degrees here and I want a cherry lime-ade now.

Never would have thought that ice chewing could be considered under pica. I usually consume the ice in drinks, but mostly for the crunchiness. Used to drive my mother crazy -- she thought I was going to break a tooth.
posted by dw at 3:37 PM on May 16, 2006

i chew ice. but you knew that, didn't you?
posted by quonsar at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2006

Ditto, empath. I love to chew ice from a drink, but I actually just realized I haven't done it in a while. I don't put ice in my drinks at home and I wouldn't chew ice in a restaurant. I'll do it in my car though. It is a wonderful thing though, LOL.
posted by PigAlien at 3:49 PM on May 16, 2006

I'm an ice chewer too, and yes I know what places have the best ice for chewing. One of the requirements for the fridge we bought when we moved into a house was that it have a built in ice crusher ... and yes, my ice chewing drives my husband insane. We've always attributed my ice chewing to my anemia, but I swear, I really just love chewing soft crushed ice. I wouldn't go so far as to compare it to a religion, but yeah ... REALLY love it.

And now thanks to WolfDaddy, I too am sitting here jonesing for a Sonic cherry lime-ade. Damn you! It's rush hour, and the Sonic is impossible to get to during rush hour. I'll have to find some excuse to leave the house later to feed my Sonic ice addiction (as well as my Sonic cherry lime-ade addiction). :D
posted by Orb at 4:00 PM on May 16, 2006

Though I would buy this, despite my high iron content.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 4:18 PM on May 16, 2006

I have destroyed my teeth by chewing Ice. I've had 2 crowns and 3 root canals, but I still chew ice. i don't think it's funny.
posted by Megafly at 4:23 PM on May 16, 2006

Chewing ice is indeed awesome. A local restauraunt has crushed ice like the ice at sonic. We recently got a new fridge with an ice in the door feature. It has automaticly crushed ice! Its the best ever because it in exactly the right size to chew.
posted by Suparnova at 6:03 PM on May 16, 2006

I was a chronic ice chewer as a child but now that I have so many fillings, no more ice chewing...
posted by yodelingisfun at 6:14 PM on May 16, 2006

*sips contentendly on his Route Giganto or whatever sized cherry lime-ade with lots of fab crushed ice, makes Nelson-like laughing noises around a mouthful of deliciousness*
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:48 PM on May 16, 2006

whenever ice gets dropped on the floor our dogs consistently eat it. shame the same can't be said for their turds, although they did 'clean themselves up' once. makes me gag just thinking about it.
posted by 6am at 7:26 PM on May 16, 2006

Wow, this is just like when I found out that not only were there other people like me who liked Star Trek, but that they were kind of ....weird about it.

I've found my tribe.
posted by slatternus at 7:57 PM on May 16, 2006

I love that rabbit shit ice. It's like 1cm balls of hail.

In this age of globalization, pretty much all ices available at restaurants are the same. Anyone know of a national food chain in the USA that uses the turdiform ice?

As for ice chewing's dark side, I haven't yet had any bad things happen to my teeth because of it but I like how it gets any stuck pieces of food out of my molars. That's got to count for something.
posted by redteam at 9:52 PM on May 16, 2006

Great, great post! I am in total awe.
posted by simonemarie at 10:05 PM on May 16, 2006

My grandparents had well water which produced fantastic ice for chewing. I suspect it was from disolved gas. The ice was very soft.
posted by Goofyy at 12:42 AM on May 17, 2006

Freaks, the lot of you! The thought of chewing ice makes my skin crawl. I can't even watch someone bite into a popsicle without going into convulsions. Just reading this thread made me break out in goosebumps. Naturally, I didn't click the link.
posted by quite unimportant at 3:21 AM on May 17, 2006

nekton - aside from the anemia, I believe a craving for ice is also a symptom of iron or protein deficiency..
posted by spiderskull at 5:18 AM on May 17, 2006

As I stated earlier, I am addicted to chewing ice, and as many people have already said, though it is the funnest thing ever for the chewer, it is misery for the chewed around. As a result, it is one of the things that Mrs. ¢ and I fight about most often. I sent her the link to the ice chewers bulletin board, and here was her reply:

i cant even look at that website without getting frustrated and wanting to scream stop chewing that ice
posted by ND¢ at 5:52 AM on May 17, 2006

I too am an unrepentant ice chewer, I have had the habit since childhood, and *touch wood*, it has yet to have any deleterious effects on my teeth. I have cut down however, since Christmas, when at a family gathering, an endocrinologist uncle told me about pagophagia, and the obvious lack of iron in my blood, which he diagnosed when he saw me finish a glass that I had simply filled with ice to chew. When I finished that glass, I shamelessly dipped into my husband's glass to eat his leftover ice as well.
I take iron pills everyday now, and my ice chewing days are on the wane.
I am going to forward the link to all of my family members who think I am batshit insane for chewing ice. They have to see I am not alone.
posted by msali at 10:51 AM on May 17, 2006

Chewing ice is like fingers on a chalkboard.

*shudder*
posted by deborah at 3:09 PM on May 17, 2006

I have destroyed my teeth by chewing Ice. I've had 2 crowns and 3 root canals, but I still chew ice. i don't think it's funny.
posted by Megafly at 7:23 PM EST on May 16
Yeah, same here. I grew up chewing the big blocks straight from the ice tray and now....5 crowns and another molar is cracked (I can't eat anything on my right side until that baby breaks and then another $800 for a crown.) All this-- and I have no cavities.

Fortunately I gave up the ice cubes and now only occasionally indulge in the crushed ice...oooooo crushed ice, love that feeling.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:46 PM on May 17, 2006