Most people have heard of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs 4th of July competition - the one where Takeru Kobayashi shoves hot dogs in his mouth at lightening speeds - but did you realize that there are many different kinds of competitive eating contests? If you think shoving 59 hot dogs in your face is wild, how do you feel about pigs' feet and knuckles (the winner recently ate 2.89 pounds of the stuff) or gyoza (212 of them). In fact there are so many competitive eating contests that the folks at Senselist have actually put together a list of their favorite 16 competitive eating contests. Of those 16, my faves include:
- Rhubarb Pie: Winner ate 7.9 pounds of rhubarb pie in eight minutes; North Dakota State Fair, July 2006
- Jalapeno Peppers: Winner ate 247 pickled jalapenos in eight minutes; State Fair of Texas, October 2006
- Strawberry Shortcake: Winner ate 15.25 pounds of strawberry shortcake in eight minutes; Mattituck, NY, June 2007
- Chili Cheese Fries: Winner ate 5.44 pounds of fries; Long Beach, CA, February 2007
- Whole Turkey: Winner ate 4.8 pounds of turkey in 12 minutes; Artie’s Deli, New York, NY, November 2006
Oh and don't forget, Nathan's hot dog eating contest will actually air on ESPN tomorrow at 12pm ET. While you're waiting for your bbq to warm up, you can watch the much anticipated face-off between Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut (aka that guy who broke Kobayashi's record).
Speaking of records, the list of competitive eating records is pretty darn impressive. 7.75 pounds of turduckens in 12 minutes?!?
