Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest - Part 1 of 2

The 4th of July – the day of our great nation’s independence – provokes memories of holidays past and makes us reel with anticipation of the annual traditions that make this day so special. Traditions are different for all of us. My friend Natalie likes to race two live lobsters across her floor before boiling them. I do my best to avoid fireworks but sob uncontrollably when avoidance fails. My family barbecues. No matter what makes this day different for each of us, there is one tie that binds us all as a nation – the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Last year proved to be a banner year for America, as Joey Chestnut claimed the Mustard Yellow Belt, winning it back from Takeru Kobayashi of Japan. Not only did Chestnut bring the title back to the U.S.A., he broke the world record by eating 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. (He is also the 3-time winner of the asparagus title.) Kobayashi (Koby) was the favorite to win but apparently succumbed to discomfort related to a jaw injury he suffered shortly before. Joey Chestnut and Koby will go head to head again today as they both qualified for the contest in first and second places, respectively.

A notable contestant, and one of my personal favorites, is 105-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas (photo above). While never winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, she holds several world records including: Armour Vienna Sausage, cheesecake, hard-boiled eggs, and baked beans (the long course; apparently there was controversy during the short course with regards to the temperature of the beans). The Black Widow broke the female world record in hotdog eating in last year's Nathan's Hot Dog Contest with 59 hotdogs. This will be participating again today, having qualified in fifth place.

Techniques:

• Water dunking – dunking the food in a cup of water before eating it to soften and lubricate


• Breaking the food into small pieces which reduces necessary chewing time


• Solomon Technique or Japanesing – Koby’s technique of breaking the hotdog in half and eating both halves at the same time

Check back tomorrow for a run down of the 2008 highlights! (Due to the time difference between Zurich and Brooklyn, I won’t see results until the evening).

http://people.howstuffworks.com/competitive-eating1.htmhttp://www.ifoce.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya_Thomas