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Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Denelle brought up some nice ideas on how to celebrate the Fourth of July, but here's one she didn't mention: a hot dog eating contest.

A Japanese man won the Independence Day hot dog eating competition for the sixth straight time, breaking his own world record by eating almost 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Now, if you follow hot dog eating as much as I do, you know this fella usually doesn't have much competition, but I'm happy to inform you that he was pushed to the edge by American Joey Chestnut, who downed a very strong 52 dogs.

It's interesting to see that most of the competitors were normal size, save for Eric Booker, a 425 lb. behemoth from Long Island. From espn.com:

NEW YORK -- A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a record by devouring a sickening 53¾ frankfurters in 12 minutes to win the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.

The feat earned Takeru Kobayashi, 27, his sixth straight title in the event, held at the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand on Brooklyn's seashore. His prize: the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt.

Kobayashi broke his record of 53½ hot dogs, set at the same competition two years ago.

Thousands of raucous spectators jammed the streets in front of the hot dog stand, a block from the famed Coney Island boardwalk, to watch the competition and Kobayashi -- a top-ranked eater who once ate 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains to win $25,000.

His strongest competition was Joey Chestnut, a 220-pound civil engineering student from San Jose, Calif., who set a U.S. record by eating 50 hot dogs during a qualifying tournament in Las Vegas.

Chestnut jumped to an early lead in the competition, sometimes jamming franks into his mouth with two hands as the crowd roared.

But Chestnut struggled, red-faced, with veins bulging in his forehead, as the Japanese star methodically chomped dog after dog, often dipping them in a soft drink before cramming them into his mouth. Kobayashi passed Chestnut with about three minutes left in the contest.