10 Competitive Eating Achievements Not To Be Tried At Home

Takeru Kobayashi may not be a name that easily rolls off the tongues of most though is synonymous with legendary achievements in the world of competitive eating. Not only did this particular chap hold the world hot dog eating record for no less than six years, but he also managed to set a new record by polishing off 93 hamburgers in eight minutes at the 2009 Krystal Square Off. Speechless…

Again, this particular record has to be met with the very same “Why?” factor as the earlier butter listing, as indeed, why on Earth would anyone choose to push themselves in the world of competitive mayonnaise consumption? Well, whatever the reason it does indeed happen, with the title currently being held by Oleg Zhornitskiy who for reasons that remain unknown was able to stomach over 120 ounces in under eight minutes.

We’ve all thought from time to time that we could demolish the world’s biggest pizza and yes eating pizza on a professional level sounds fun on the surface, but there’s also one to take the whole thing to a truly ridiculous level… that being none other than our favorite Mr. Joey Chestnut again. So, how much pizza is too much pizza? Try 29 slices of the stuff in 10 minutes. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, that’s well over 10,000 calories in 10 minutes…

Getting back to the eating contests we all know and love, pie competitive eating is one of the most popular and loved competitions.There has long been a love affair with the traditional pie eating contest where it is more about speed and technique than plain and simple capacity.

Of all places, the World Pie Eating Championship is held in a rather modest bar in Wigan, England, where the usual hands-tied-behind-the-back requires a “skilled” technique to devour the humble 5-inch wide, 1.5-inch deep pie; which recently has had a vegetarian option introduced. The current record stands with one Mr. Neil Collier, who polished off his plate sans-hands in just over 23 seconds. Fun fact, the 2007 competition was almost called off after a dog named Charlie decided to help himself to 20 pies while attacking 10 more in the course of the night prior to the event.

And finally, our number one had to be the old-faithful hot dog eating contest, which is just as popular and indeed silly today as it has been for generations. Testing gastric mettle with these lovely cylindrical sticks of “meat” has for some reason captured our attention, with the best of the best heading for Coney Island on July 4th to showcase their skills to the world. Again, what an incredible way to celebrate a nation’s freedom…

So, with such an incredible worldwide spectacle and the potential for fame and notoriety the likes of which no other foodstuff in epic quantities can bring, guess who took the record home for hot-dog eating? Yep, Mr. Joey Chestnut who, once again, further sealed his fame and reputation by taking just ten minutes to destroy 62 hot dogs and buns. And for anyone curious about the details, over 18,000 calories in 10 minutes in this occasion. Which is nothing a 160-mile run can’t take care of!