Ahhhh, July 4th. Not only is this America’s Holiday, but July 4th marks the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York. Starting in 1972, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest features dynamic athletes who speed eat as many hot dogs as possible in 10 minutes.
The introductions are hilarious. Each athlete is introduced in a WWE style walk up featuring music and their past “stats” warranting their entry into the competition. I don’t know about you. If I were able to eat 1 pound of turkey legs in under 10 minutes, I probably wouldn’t want anyone knowing about it….. Much less have it broadcasted on ESPN.
For me, the first two minutes are funny watching grown men stove 5+ hot dogs down their throats at once, an impressive display really. However, it goes straight downhill from there. When they start wetting the buns in water to eat them faster, I draw the line. Once you get 3 minutes into the competition it gets painfully gross.
The current world record is held by American hero, Joey Chestnut, who was able to gobble down a current world record 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the 2020 competition. This beat his previous record of 74 hot dogs at the 2018 contest. IDK about you, but I think he could make a lot more money gobbling other things down if you know what I mean.
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