This story might be a little hard to swallow...ha ha. Every July 4th, Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs runs a hot dog eating challenge at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The event has a history dating back to 1916, when two immigrants started it all with a hot dog eating contest to decide which one was more patriotic. Go figure that one out.
Today, the contest is a little bit more organized...and popular too. 2 MILLION people tuned in ESPN last year to watch American phenom Joey "Jaws" Chestnut eat 62 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes (somebody check this guy's cholesterol level!). I still can't figure out how a human being can eat that much in that short time frame. But Joey's 62 dogs last year wasn't even his best effort. In 2009, he ate 68 hot dogs and buns to set the world record. That is just SICK!! Chestnut has now won the contest for 5 straight years. Prior to Joey Chestnut, Japan's Takeru Kobayashi had dominated it for years.
This year, the contest will be dramatically different. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a very officious manor, has bucked tradition and used his position to get rid of beef hot dogs for the contest. Citing cardio-vascular health as his reasoning, Bloomberg has gone TOFU. That's right, Nathan's Famous Hot Dog eating contest will use Tofu Dogs from now on.
Is this major mayoral decision hard to "stomach?" Yes. It's almost to the point of giving a New Yorker indigestion. You see, a lot of people from NYC like something called tradition. Something tells me that a few of them might not like the mayor's decision. It was just announced a few days ago, so we'll see how it all plays out. To be "frank"...I don't think Bloomberg will be any one's "dog" anytime soon, as a famous judge on American Idol might say.
Will Johnson
[photo courtesy of Roberthuffstutter]
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