FOXSYLVANIA

– – With the Xmas season almost upon us and overeating indulgences likely to ensue, it might be worthwhile considering the differences between competitive eating and fad eating.   While it’s debatable whether competitive eating is really a sport, there are at least rules and regulations which govern it, and the items consumed tend to actually be conventional foods, such as hot dogs.  Fad or event eating in contrast tends to be less structured with at times potentially dangerous consequences to participants; the items consumed, while technically edible, tend not to be commonly found on family dinner tables, such as insects.  Other fad or event consumptions have involved normally harmless and indeed vital items, although even water proved fatal to one contestant when consumed to extreme excess over a short time.  Fad eating has been spurred in recent years by the advent of reality TV shows, and feed off of the gross-out factor involved.  If $100 is offered to someone to eat a worm, there will be takers and those who watch.

Competitive eating has been in existence in America since the early 20th century, with the first ever “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” at Coney Island occurring in 1916.  Some competitive eaters have won thousands of dollars for stuffing their gullets, sadly in a country where some still go hungry.  Items consumed at competitive eating contests have included pies, green beans, cheesecake, chicken wings, hard boiled eggs, lobster tails, oysters, and jalapenos…

This entry was posted on December 2, 2012 at 3:08 am and is filed under absurdities, strange, things humans do, trends. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: competitive eating