I’m amazed at the amount of press the hot-dog eating contest got–and even more amazed at the results. From the LVRJ:
There is something all-American, though, about contests where the ultimate goal is to consume more food than the eater next to you. This is a country, after all, where two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and where 177,000 people underwent surgery to lose weight last year alone.
Maybe that’s why the thousands who crowded around the stage at Coney Island seemed so excited to see Chestnut break Japan’s recent dominance of an institution we once called our own. He ended up not only beating Kobayashi, but setting a world record of 66 dogs in just 12 minutes.
…
Chestnut was the hero of this Fourth of July, but another young American, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago, finished third with 49. Bertoletti already has the title for eating 19 slices of pizza in 10 minutes last year, and he owns the record for eating 5.75 pounds of corned beef and cabbage.
No conversation about great gorgers is complete without a mention of Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, who was the 2003 International Federation of Competitive Eating rookie of the year and is currently ranked fourth in the world.
Thomas, food aficionados might remember, once ate 8 pounds, 2 ounces of Wienerschnitzel Chili Cheese Fries in 10 minutes, and holds records in foods as diverse as fruitcake and deep-fried okra.
ReviewJournal.com – Sports – TIM DAHLBERG: Chestnut leaves no doubt who’s top dog in eating hot dogs
I don’t even know what to say about this. Why don’t they have some kind of big eating event in Vegas? How about a contest to see who can eat the costliest array of food? Let loose one of these eaters in Joel Robuchon or Guy Savoy and see how many $100+ entrees they can scarf down in ten minutes.
Seriously, I wonder exactly how much a dedicated individual could eat–would it be thousands of dollars? Tens of thousands?