Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Video: Behold The NY Man Who Set The World Record For Longest Burp
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 10, 2012
Modified Jun 10, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 10, 2012
Modified Jun 10, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We all have things we're really good at—some people can eat light bulbs really fast, some organizations are experts at stops-and-frisks, and others can burp for a really long time. But no one can burp as long as pizza chef and competitive eater Timothy Janus, who became the first ever World Burping Champion after delivering a burp of 18.1 seconds. Watch video below!
The championship was held at the Hudson Station Bar and Grill in midtown on Friday; it was put on in conjunction with the release of the Major League Eating: The Game app on iPhone and iPad. Janus, nicknamed "Eater X," is currently ranked #3 in Major League Eating. So what's his secret? Guzzling soda. Janus drank roughly 2 gallons of Diet Coke and Mountain Dew to inspire his historic burp. "I was just trying to condense all the air in my stomach and bring it to the surface," the 165-pound Janus told DNAInfo. "You just have to force every last bit of air up. It's beautiful, really."
Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 400 pound titan who regularly appears in competitive eating competitions, also downed two gallons of soda, but could barely get burps longer than more than a few seconds: "When I have that much soda, it expands like my stomach like I've never felt before," Booker said. "It's like the Mentos effect. The gas is brewing in my stomach." Considering Bloomberg's soda ban, how long before the Burping Championship is forced to go underground?
Janus, who wears a mask when he competes, isn't just a competitive eater and game show winner (he won $100K on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?)— he was also the star of the excellent Boston Spaceships music video for their 2009 single "Let It Rest For A Little While."
Tagged
burp
burping
world burping championships
world record
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .