You may have missed one of the more interesting yet bizarre annual 4th of July events that saw one man bring his hunger, and push his body to limits we cannot possibly understand.  Meet Joey Chestnut - King of Competitive Eating.

Yes I said competitive eating.  There are national contests that go on to see how far people can push their stomachs to ingest, and I think Rolaids has sponsored some these outings (if they don't, they should!).  The granddaddy of all eating events was on Wednesday in Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY) with the 97th Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest - Joey Chestnut (pictured) won for the 6th straight year tying a world record by eating 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.  Yes, that did include the buns!

This does not seem humanly possible to eat so much in such a short time, but Chestnut has become the King of a world many does not know exists.  The 6-foot tall, 218-pound average guy from Cali is ranked #1 in the world by the International Federation of Competitive (I am not making this up!)

Chestnut apparently makes a living doing this, and on Wednesday his win earned him $10,000.  So how the heck can he eat 68 hot dogs and not get ill?  Chestnut trains by fasting and by stretching his stomach with milk, water and protein supplements.

So how good is Chestnut?  Here is some of his eating accomplishments:

- He's eaten 10 1/2 pounds of macaroni and cheese in seven minutes (World Record)

- He's consumed 20 half pound Corn Beef sandwiches in 10 minutes (World Record)

- He was on Man Vs. Food and ate a 5 lb., 17-inch burrito in just 3 minutes

- Chestnut won the Upper Crust Pizza Eating competition by taking down 37 slices in 10 minutes (Sept. 2010)

- Joey won The Wing Bowl in 2007 by eating 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes

- He has a YouTube video drinking a gallon of milk in 41 seconds (see for yourself)

- He's consumed 4 1/2 pounds of steak, plus sides, in 8 minutes and 52 seconds (World Record)

- Joey ate 9 pounds of tempura-fried asparagus at the World Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Championship (again, none of this is made up!)

- Then there is his 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes (World Record)

Joey Chestnut is 26-years-old, has a background in Construction Engineering, and is a man with an appetite.  If eating is part of his occupation, then what would Joey eat for pure enjoyment?

 

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