DAILY DIRT: Joey Chestnut: The man, the myth, the eating legend

Daily Dirt for Monday, Jan. 6, 2025

Fourteen pounds of bologna in eight minutes is a lot of bologna … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,165 of The Daily Dirt.

1. If you happened to miss it, Joey Chestnut was the honorary chairman of the recent San Diego Holiday Bowl football game.

I’m sure there were a few who just read that and asked, “Who?”

For the uninitiated, Chestnut is the most famous MLE (Major League Eating) champion ever. He currently holds 55 world records across 55 different disciplines, ranging from downing a 9.35-pound turkey in 10 minutes to devouring 25.5 ice cream sandwiches in six minutes. (Talk about brain freeze … ) 

Chestnut is truly a man, myth AND legend when it comes to competitive eating. He will, of course, always be most famous for his consumption of hot dogs during those nationally televised competitions on July 4 on ESPN. His current record is 83 (including buns) in 10 minutes.

But there’s more to this man’s stomach than the digestion of mere wieners and buns. His most recent record-setting performance came in early December when he downed 21 pounds of St. Elmo shrimp cocktail in eight minutes before the Big 10 championship football game in Indianapolis.

I’ve put together my 10 favorite titles Chestnut currently owns:

• 1. It’s hard to beat that 83 hot dogs (and buns) in just 10 minutes. He did that last summer, breaking hiw own mark by seven dogs.
• 2. 121 Twinkies in six minutes, a record he has held since 2013.
• 3. 257 Hostess Donettes in six minutes, scarfed in 2018.
• 4. 126 tacos in eight minutes, a record that has stood since 2017.
• 5. 30 (8-ounce) Gyros in 10 minutes, established in 2016.
• 6. 384 gyozas in 10 minutes, consumed in 2014. (Gyozas are a Japanese food, normally a crescent-shaped dumpling that is typically filled with meat, seafood, cabbage, Chinese chives, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil.)
• 7. 47 grilled-cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes, eaten in 2006.
• 8. 15 bowls (16 ounces each) of gumbo, or about 1.875 gallons, consumed in 2015.
• 9. 14.5 pounds of boysenberry pie in eight minutes, shoveled down in 2016.
• 10. 118 jalapeno poppers in 10 minutes, downed in 2006. 

Honorable mention: 14 pounds of bologna in eight minutes, digested in 2024.

FYI: Chestnut is now 41 years old and has given no indication he’s planning on retiring anytime soon. His annual income as an MLE superstar, coupled with sponsorships, is reportedly between $250,000 and $500,000 per year. He lives in a $2.8 million residence in Westfield, Ind.

2. Did you know (Part 238)

• That Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini were all nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize at one point in their lives.
• That 27,000 trees are cut down each day to supply the demand for toilet paper.
• That 12 percent of all languages are found on the island of Papua, New Guinea, which has more than 820 indigenous languages.
• That “Rap God” from Eminem packs 1,560 words into the six-minute song, holding the world record for most words in a hit single.
• That Alice Cooper once babysat Keanu Reeves when the latter was a wee lad.

3. Some silly, but-oh-so-true names of towns around the world:

• Batman, Turkey.
• Accident, Maryland.
• Condom, France.
• Fart, Virginia.
• Bacon, Indiana.
• Cheesequake, New Jersey.
• Gogogogo, Madagascar.
• My Large Intestine, Texas.
• Nowhere Else, Australia.
• Sexi, Peru.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Boanthropy is the physical disorder of someone who believes they are a cow. Well, that’s one moo-ving thought.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. If you think you are a cow, does that make you a furry?