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1 Smallish Japanese Man + 53.5 Hot Dogs = Nathan's Insanity
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 6, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 6, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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has done it again. He has defied physics (though maybe not gastrophysics) by chowing down 53.5 hot dogs in twelve minutes to a new new world record in hot dog eating, breaking his 2002 record of 50.5 hot dogs. Kobayashi told the crowd, "I feel wonderful." American challenger (and a conductor for the 7 train) Eric Booker tied for 5th place with 27 hot dogs, explaining his digestion, "I was at the point where I was jumping up on stage trying to get this burp out and it wouldn't come out." That actually reminded Gothamist of a Freaks and Geeks episode where Bill reminds Sam about his "fart that came out a poop" during science class. Anyway, Booker is 420 pounds, whereas Kobayashi is less than a third of that weight at 132 pounds.
Slice takes a break from pizza coverage to witness the historic event and believes that Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, a petite woman from Virginia, will bring the belt back to the states, with her third place showing of eating 32 dogs. And there's going to be a movie set in the world of competitive eating. More on competitive eating at the International Federation of Competitive Eating.
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takeru kobayashi
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the black widow
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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