# If I teamed up with 2nd place we STILL wouldn't have beaten Joey Chestnut **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493 "2025-07-04T17:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/1 "2025-07-04T17:33:12Z")
Joey Chestnut does it again, winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest for the 17th time, after a banning/hiatus last year for sponsoring a Impossible Foods vegan ‘hot dog’ This year he _only_ ate 70.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes, a handful shy of the/his record. However second place wasn’t even close with 46.5 dogs down in the same 10 minutes. Their poor gall bladders, & livers, & intestines! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/2 "2025-07-04T17:43:27Z")
I’m a bit more worried about what is wrong with their brains. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/3 "2025-07-04T17:57:15Z")
Well, Joey for one, has monetized it. Not really an inspired life plan. But he’s made it work for himself. So, yeah crazy. Crazy like a fox ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/4 "2025-07-04T17:58:08Z")
Chestnut earns $500k/year in prize money and sponsorships. His brain is doing quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/5 "2025-07-04T19:03:06Z")
I’ll be damned. Before Kobayashi, the record was 25 dogs in 12 minutes. Then Kobayashi doubled it at 50 dogs in 12 minutes. Now they’re at 70 dogs in 10 minutes. I’ve heard from people close to the competitors that many of the competitors projectile vomit all the food out after the competition, so their bodies don’t have to deal with all the damage of all the sodium, calories, fat, etc. I remember reading one story about a competitive eater who trained for these competitions by drinking an entire gallon of water to stretch his stomach out. Then he would vomit the water up. One time he didn’t vomit the water up and he had to be hospitalized because all the water screwed up his electrolyte levels. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/6 "2025-07-04T19:23:51Z")
Even if they could prove that eating that many hot dogs that quickly is incredibly unhealthy, he has the right to do what he wants as long as he isn’t hurting anybody else. And if someone is dumb enough to emulate him, that’s a choice they can make for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/7 "2025-07-04T23:29:29Z")
It was nice seeing him competing again and dominating the competition. Miki Sudo won the women’s contest despite eating 18 fewer than the record she set last year. One woman was disqualified; usually that means that she vomited. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/8 "2025-07-05T04:56:27Z")
Last year, on the sports podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out”, Pablo interviewed Joey Chestnut: “Fifty Shades of Brown: The Ins and Outs of Competitive Eating". Joey told him all the details of what he does to train, whether he vomits, etc. - more detail than you ever thought you wanted to know. Pretty interesting. > **[The Greatest Eater of All Time](https://www.pablo.show/p/the-greatest-eater-of-all-time)** > > EPISODE 138: "Fifty shades of brown." ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/9 "2025-07-05T05:11:22Z")
This is just another form of an eating disorder. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/10 "2025-07-05T06:21:37Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This is just another form of an eating disorder.   This is like saying that people who enter dance marathons have a dancing disorder. Eating disorder is typically defined as problems with eating which the person cannot control. Joey Chestnut competes not because he’s compulsed to. He does it because it pays so well, and he’s very, very good at it, thanks to his anatomy. He’s one of the _most_ ordered eaters I’ve ever known of (not counting the man I worked with who ate the exact same 21 meals every single week). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/11 "2025-07-05T07:34:45Z")
Makes you think about Taco Tuesdays in another way. 🤔 🌮 ---
**Author:** ![tylerkelley1980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b3f665/32.png) [@tylerkelley1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tylerkelley1980)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/12 "2025-07-06T09:25:44Z")
Chestnut’s numbers are just insane—every year I think someone will close the gap, but nope. The fact that teaming up with second place still wouldn’t beat him says it all. It’s part athleticism, part pain tolerance, part pure mental willpower. Whether you find it impressive or gross, the guy is in a league of his own. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/13 "2025-07-06T20:45:03Z")
[Moderating] Moving from CS to the Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/14 "2025-07-06T21:11:26Z")
He’s an attention hog. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/15 "2025-07-06T23:59:52Z")
Why? It’s about eating ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/16 "2025-07-07T00:17:31Z")
It’s about a game. Eating goes in CS to the extent that food is an art. Chestnut doesn’t eat hot dogs out of an appreciation for their artistry. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/17 "2025-07-07T00:29:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > He’s an attention hog.   I think that’s to be expected as so much of his livelihood (advertising endorsements) depends on his likability, popularity, and publicity, like anyone in the entertainment business. (Wait, were you making a joke that went over my head?) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/18 "2025-07-07T01:31:33Z")
Couldn’t be over your head. He’s a hog that craves attention. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/19 "2025-07-07T02:26:14Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > However second place wasn’t even close with 46.5 dogs down in the same 10 minutes. To put that in perspective, 7th and 8th places combined lose to Joey. 13th, 14th, and 15th combined also lose to Joey. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493/20 "2025-07-07T10:30:36Z")
I was going to make a similar comment but after losing the post twice I gave up. The winner in the women’s division, Miki Sudo, dominated her field even more convincingly. Her total of 33 beat the combined scores of the #s 4 & 5 finishers with 16 & 13.5 respectively totaling 29.5 . She came decently close to beating #s 3 & 4 who got 21.5 & 16 respectively totaling 37.5. Clearly both these folks stand head and belly above their peers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-teamed-up-with-2nd-place-we-still-wouldnt-have-beaten-joey-chestnut/1020493.md?page=2)