Who hasn’t heard of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
Every year on July 4th, there’s this super exciting event. It’s all about competitive eating, specifically hot dogs! The contest takes place at the famous Nathan’s restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, right at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues. It’s like a tradition now, and people gather from all over to witness this thrilling event.
But very few know of its origins. Back in 1973, a young and impressive 14-year-old named Michael Rabin emerged as the champion of the contest and even made it onto the local Channel 7 news.
Now here’s where things get a bit quirky. Because of a shortage of meat at the time and a desire to avoid any negative publicity, Nathan’s had to play it cool and act like the contest never actually happened. Can you believe it? So poor Michael Rabin didn’t officially get recognized as the winner, and his name wasn’t listed anywhere. It’s quite the curious twist in the contest’s history.
In July 4, 2011, Sonya Thomas became the champion of the very first Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest specifically for women. You see, before that, both men and women would compete together, except for one time back in 1975 on Memorial Day. But this time, it was all about the ladies!
In just 10 minutes, Sonya managed to devour a whopping 40 hot dogs! Can you believe it? Her incredible feat earned her the first-ever Pepto-Bismol-sponsored pink belt, and she walked away with a cool $10,000 as the grand prize. It was such an exciting and memorable moment for her.
The competition has become a real crowd-pleaser lately, thanks to the rise of Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi and Joey “Jaws” Chestnut. These two stars have really made a name for themselves in recent years. Speaking of champions, Chestnut holds the title for men, devouring a whopping 62 hot dogs in this year’s event. And let’s not forget about the incredible Miki Sudo, who dominated the women’s division by devouring 39.5 hot dogs in 2023.
You’ve got to agree, there are very few competitions as anticipated as this one!