Dumbo as an Eating Contest June 18, 2009 2:08 PM | permalink

The freak show is returning to Coney Island...

On July 4th, Joey Chestnut will attempt to beat Takeru Kobayashi for a third year in a row at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Last year's event (which I attended front row; check out my photo at left!) ended in a thrilling tiebreaker.

But this year, we have a new tradition in Brooklyn. On July 3rd  a trio of elephants will take on a trio of  humans in a hot dog bun eating contest. Whichever team takes down the most buns in six minutes will be declared winner. The contest is an effort to promote the circus' tour stop at Coney Island. No doubt protesters will be out in full force.

It may seem like the elephants have an unfair advantage as pachyderms are known to pack down a loaf of bread in less than two seconds, but George Shea, the president of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, thinks humans have an advantage of their own: "Perhaps the elephants won't understand the word 'go'."

I hate to break it to him, but that didn't help  Kobayashi when he took on a BEAR in a hot dog eating contest on the TV show Man vs. Beast. The bear quickly all but inhaled the dogs before the Japanese wiener muncher even ate half of what was on his plate.

Comments

[Susan]

Given the obesity epidemic in this country, wouldn't it be more responsible to have a NOT-eating contest? But wait...I guess the people in 2nd through 10th places would be dead, right? Nevermind.

[cwn]

ha, the funny/ironic part about the poster aboves idea of a NOT-eating contest is that a NOT-eating contest would be dominated by morbidly obese people with plenty of fat stores to nourish them whilst the skinny athletic types would die off much quicker as their body does not have the fat reserves to keep them going for very long.

Conversely, the top "competitive eaters" out there seem to be in fairly decent shape...Neither Kobayashi(sp?) or Chestnut could be considered obese by any stretch of the imagination.

So, your NOT-eating competition would do far more to encourage obesity than competitive eating.....in my opinion. (fyi, I consider competitive eating to be disgusting so don't think I am trying to defend it....I just found the irony part funny)

[jefbrn]

The Nathan's people are hillarious. I am going to July 4 for the second time this year. The obesity hand-wringers and peta protesters are really getting boring and they hurt their own credibility with their whining over everything.