This Rapper Can Drink 2 Liters of Soda Faster Than Anyone on the Planet

If you're thirsty, you might reach for an ice-cold soda and end up drinking half of it before setting it down again. If you're really thirsty, you might slam the whole can in one go. But your ability to occasionally consume a mere 12 ounces of carbonation and corn syrup pales in comparison to Eric "Badlands" Booker who now holds the Guinness World Record for chugging two liters faster than anyone else on the planet. The guy can drink a family-sized serving of cola in just 18.45 seconds.

The feat actually took place on May 19, 2021, in his hometown of Selden, NY, but the attempt and subsequent awarding of the record were confirmed by Guinness World Records on the organization's blog earlier this week.

Guinness World Records also shared a video of Booker breaking the record, which you can see below. (I feel like I shouldn't have to warn you there's a giant belch near the end, but there's a giant belch near the end.)

Booker is about as calm and cool as you can get before setting a world record. He introduces himself and the challenge and verifies the amount of cola by pouring it into a 2000-milliliter beaker. (It's a "commercially available soda" which we're told is sugar-free variety… so, judging from the black bottle cap, probably Coke Zero.) Granted, Booker then drinks from the beaker itself, leaving me to wonder how different the attempt would be from an actual two-liter bottle.

But who am I to question his methods? As has become possible in the age of YouTube, Booker is essentially a professional drink chugger. Aside from his other career interests of rapping and competitive eating (he's ranked #23 by Major League Eating), his YouTube channel BadlandsChugs boasts nearly three million subscribers and hundreds of millions of views. Fans can see him demolish all sorts of drinks, meals, and snack foods, and even watch his tutorials to learn how to chug like a pro.

Booker joins another recent soft drink record set recently: In March, 20-year-old Brit Declan Evans was recognized for crushing an entire Capri Sun (using the straw) in just 16.65 seconds.

But if for some reason you don't think gulping down a beverage that's meant to be gulped down is much of a feat, maybe you'll be impressed by some other records: in 2017, someone drank a whole bottle of maple syrup in just 10.84 seconds and the world record for downing a liter of gravy stands at 38.22 seconds.