The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition, which is run as a publicity gathering event by Shea Communications. It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In 2011 over 40,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.949 million viewers watched it live on ESPN television when Joey Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs and buns.
The contest has gained public attention in recent years due to the sudden stardom of Takeru Kobayashi, his subsequent rivalry with American Joey Chestnut, and the current controversy over Kobayashi's contractual dispute and absence. In the ninety-seventh annual contest, held on July 4, 2012, five-time-defending champion Chestnut won his record-tying sixth title by consuming a record-tying 68 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in ten minutes. The contest was televised live on ESPN 360 and shall be broadcast on ESPN later in the afternoon due to Wimbledon coverage pre-empting it, which has held the broadcast rights for this event since 2004.
Read more about Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest: History and Traditions, Rules, Prizes, Controversy, Results, Tactics and Training, Recent Contest Results
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—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)