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MIAMI (AP) - As a Florida medical examiner tries to determine how 32-year-old Edward Archbold died after eating insects during a contest to win a snake, people around the country are asking: Why?

Why would anyone eat a live cockroach? Why did he die Friday when several others in the contest ate the same bugs without incident? What inspired Archbold to shovel handfuls of crickets, worms and cockroaches into his mouth?

While eating bugs is normal in many parts of the world, the practice is taboo in the U.S. and many western countries.

Yet people do it for the shock factor, and many do so during contests or dares.

Experts point to the rise in reality TV shows and movies such as "Fear Factor" and "Jackass" as egging people on and breaking down the ick factor.