The History of the Hot Dog Eating Contest

The hot dog eating contest has always been a strange amalgamation of history and imagination. A 32 year old truck driver named walter paul won the initial contest with a purported 127 hot dogs and buns in a single hour. The event didn't really become annual until the late 19 seventies. Most years, the winner would eat ten or 11 hot dogs in ten minutes. In fact, shay's annual precho performance often lasts longer than the hotdog eating contest itself.