It wouldn't be the Fourth of July without hot dogs -- or more specifically, hot dog eating contests.
Every year at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, competitive eaters race to see who can down the most hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. Tens of thousands of fans gather to watch the event live and ESPN broadcasts it on its network.
This year, reigning champion , downing 68 hot dogs and buns. Chestnut has won every contest at Nathan's since 2007 and in 2009 set the world record with 68 hot dogs.
He tells the AP that he was trying to break his world record but a bad minute halfway into the competition ruined his shot. "I'm a little bummed out that I didn't get to 70," he said.
Nathan's wasn't the only place to see hot dog champions stuff sausages down their gullets. At Crif Dog in Bushwick, former world champion Takeru Kobayashi . Kobayashi -- who, like Chestnut, has won six Mustard Belts -- was banned from the Nathan's event in 2010 after a contract dispute with Major League Eating.
Yes, hot dog contests have gone political! Watch this highlight reel of Chestnut's winning binge and let us know what you think of eating contests in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable .
