# Nathans hot dog eating contest **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924 "2009-07-04T21:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/1 "2009-07-04T21:00:05Z")
[http://www.nydailynews.com/ny\_local/2009/07/04/2009-07-04\_nathans\_.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/07/04/2009-07-04_nathans_.html) Joey Chesnut beat Kobaiashi again in the hot dog eating contest. He munched 68 dogs and buns in 10 minutes ,setting a new record. The pride of America has been saved for the last 3 years by Chesnut. Kobaiashi won the 6 previous years. One entrant was described as “one of the 4 horseman of the esophagus”. Another guy from Italy was called " The Italian Scallion’. You can be DQd for barfing ,which is called " a reversal of fortune’. Yep, this is American sports at its best. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/2 "2009-07-06T14:46:56Z")
I hope he doesn’t develop wind soon. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/3 "2009-07-06T14:55:40Z")
This is the one thing that threatens to ruin my Fourth of July every year. I hate the fact that these fat fucks (I don’t care how skinny the winners are) stuff their fat faces with food they don’t need and will probably just puke up later … and get paid for it … when there are probably 1,000 people in a 2 miles radius of Coney Island who would kick a baby for a cheese sandwich. Arg. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/4 "2009-07-06T16:12:22Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > This is the one thing that threatens to ruin my Fourth of July every year. I hate the fact that these fat fucks (I don’t care how skinny the winners are) stuff their fat faces with food they don’t need and will probably just puke up later … and get paid for it … when there are probably 1,000 people in a 2 miles radius of Coney Island who would kick a baby for a cheese sandwich. > > Arg. Yeah, wasting like fucking twelve dollars worth of food. If only they spent their time being productive by posting on a message board then the world would be such a better place. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/5 "2009-07-06T16:28:15Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Yeah, wasting like fucking twelve dollars worth of food. If only they spent their time being productive by posting on a message board then the world would be such a better place. What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t get your hot dog Judo. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/6 "2009-07-06T16:33:28Z")
The real shame is they dump them in water and then cram down some sort of hot dog mush. I’d be asking for grilled onions and mustard. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/7 "2009-07-06T16:59:46Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > This is the one thing that threatens to ruin my Fourth of July every year. I hate the fact that these fat fucks (I don’t care how skinny the winners are) stuff their fat faces with food they don’t need and will probably just puke up later … and get paid for it … when there are probably 1,000 people in a 2 miles radius of Coney Island who would kick a baby for a cheese sandwich. > > Arg. Instead of a cheese sandwich, maybe those 1,000 people could have one of the 100,000 hot dogs Nathans donated to the NYC Food Bank. See, dumb competitions like this bring in big money, and sometimes that money gets directed to a good purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/8 "2009-07-06T17:26:07Z")
If that’s the case, it’s still a just a good face on a bad thing. I’m glad Nathan’s donates hot dogs to hungry people, but it remains to be said that “competitve eating” is offensive. Eating is not a competition, it’s a way of not dying. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/9 "2009-07-06T17:43:52Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Eating is not a competition, it’s a way of not dying. There’s no reason it can’t be both. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/10 "2009-07-06T18:05:24Z")
I’ve asked this before, and I don’t think I got a straight answer. What happens after the competition? On a lark, I did the Man vs. Food challenge at home, the one with the shakes. I finished in about an hour (just over 50 mins). It took longer than I expected. I expected to be done in 30 mins. Afterwards, I felt incredibly full and sleepy. I did not want to move. Surprisingly, I did not feel the need to throw up. I don’t like doing that anyway, and I try to avoid it like the plague. Do these guys throw up after the competition? I read this article in Time, and they followed Koybayashi around the day of the competition. He won it, set a record, and destroyed the previous one (I think it was his third championship). After the competition, he went and ate like a hamburger, chicken wings, fries and something else at a local bar. They did not say if he threw up or not. So, what typically happens? ISTM if that they throw up, I don’t care how long after, it seems like it’s disingenuous to the spirit of the competition. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/11 "2009-07-06T18:37:23Z")
I have never heard of them heading for the vomitorium. They are a tongue in cheek ,fun type competition. The hot dogs they eat would have no impact on solving food hunger. Just like stopping Nascar would drop gas prices. Zero impact. It just seems wrong to reward gluttony ,but greed has been very well rewarded the last couple decades. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/12 "2009-07-06T20:00:47Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Eating is not a competition, it’s a way of not dying. Running is not a competition, it’s a way of getting someplace quickly. Swimming is not a competition, it’s a way to keep from drowning. See how that works? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/13 "2009-07-06T20:05:15Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t get your hot dog Judo. It means that this competition and competitive eating are inconsequential. The collective time we all spend on bullshit like posting to this message board is infinitely more harmful to the planet. Why aren’t you volunteering at a soup kitchen or working a second or third job right now? People complain about this sort of thing all the time and it’s just recreational outrage. Every single person on this message board is wasting more than that competition and to complain about it is hypocritical. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/14 "2009-07-06T20:21:41Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > If that’s the case, it’s still a just a good face on a bad thing. I’m glad Nathan’s donates hot dogs to hungry people, but it remains to be said that “competitve eating” is offensive. It’s also a good face that would likely not exist if the bad thing didn’t also exist. Nathans makes quite a pretty penny with this competition, get rid of competitive eating, and the free hotdogs would dry up as well. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/15 "2009-07-06T21:16:07Z")
I like the new rule against “sloppy eating”. As if. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/16 "2009-07-06T21:37:41Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > It means that this competition and competitive eating are inconsequential. The collective time we all spend on bullshit like posting to this message board is infinitely more harmful to the planet. Why aren’t you volunteering at a soup kitchen or working a second or third job right now? People complain about this sort of thing all the time and it’s just recreational outrage. Every single person on this message board is wasting more than that competition and to complain about it is hypocritical. Number 1, how do you know I don’t volunteer at soup kitchens. Number 2, why are you posting here and not finding a cure for cancer? You argument on hypocrisy is dumb, but I’ll cop to the recreational outrage. ---
**Author:** ![mbetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@mbetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbetter)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/17 "2009-07-07T22:18:08Z")
I was rooting for Pat Bertoletti who came in third. He went to my high school. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/18 "2009-07-07T23:53:39Z")
It is weird 400 lbers do not do well. The thin ones have taken over. I still can not picture training for the event. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/19 "2009-07-08T00:12:57Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > \ > I still can not picture training for the event. [Click](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bkFIPLIOGL8/SS9sfjO340I/AAAAAAAAUW0/_hihOgvNthw/s320/fat+guy+eating+giant+hamburger.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924/20 "2009-07-08T04:00:33Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > It is weird 400 lbers do not do well. The thin ones have taken over. One thought is that thin folks don’t have a layer of fat around their stomachs that prevent them from expanding. The stars of the game have stomachs that can hold far more then us mere mortals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/501924.md?page=2)