Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest: Bizarre rules eaters must follow revealed 

The annual American hot dog eating competition, which is held every year on the Fourth of July at the Nathan’s Famous corporation in Brooklyn, New York, is back with the wildest and most bizarre rules this year.

Those participating are on a quest to win a “bejeweled” mustard belt, along with $10,000, and the championship title. The contestants will need to eat dozens of hot dogs within 10 minutes to claim the grand prize. With an estimated 35,000 fans coming in this year, the entire event will be broadcast on ESPN where fans can take a closer look at the competition.

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Nathan’s fourth of July Hot Dog Content: What are the crazy rules?

Considered to be a famous international competition among hot dog eaters, this is an event where not just anyone can participate. Contestants should be over the age of 18, and only those who are invited are allowed to take part in the Fourth of July showdown.

This time, the MLE has invited the top ten ranked male and female contestants. However, the contests for men and women are held separately, but with the same rules, machines, metrics, and judges.

1. Time limit: Being a competition involving time limit, the winner is the person who eats the maximum number in ten minutes.
2. The order of the Hot Dogs: The hot dogs needs to be consumed in a certain order. Being plated as five hot dogs and buns in one plate, the player must finish one plate first, and then move on to the second one.
3. No cutlery: The competition does not allow forks, knives, or any other utensils apart from the plates being given at the competition.
4. Hot dogs and buns can be consumed separately: Another bizarre rule states that all the buns and the dogs do not have to be consumed as a whole; which means that competitors can eat the sausage separately and the buns separately, unlike how we do it conventionally and traditionally. However, one whole is counted only if you eat the bun and the dog together. If you eat just the dog and not the bun, it is counted as a zero.
5. Dunking the bun in water is allowed: The rules of the game also state that the participants can dunk their bun in the water so that it goes down easily, but only for a maximum of five seconds. However, taking of liquids and alcohol is strictly not permitted during the competition.
6. Swallow the bun to make it count: At the end of ten minutes when the time is up, whatever is present in the participant's mouth should be consumed within 30 seconds, or will be thrown after the given time.
7. Throw up to get disqualified: Being self-explainatory, if any participant throws up, they will be disqualified from the event.
8. No mustard, ketchup, or any condiments: While a hot dog is incomplete without mustard or ketchup, these must not be brought into the competition.

Apart from these crazy rules, if there is a tie in any situation, five hot dogs are given as an eat-off to see who can eat them in the shortest amount of time. In simpler words, whoever eats these five hot dogs and buns the fastest wins the tie breaker and the contest.

Making a comeback after two years to the iconic corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, the history of the event dates back to the Fourth of July in the year of 1916 when it was held for the first time. Winning his fourteenth title, Joey Chestnut set a new record in 2021 after he managed to eat 76 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes.

From the woman’s competition, Miki Sudi won the content in 2020 after eating 48 hot dogs and buns. Besides the crazy first-place $10,000 cash prize, the runner-up will receive $5,000 and the person in third position will take home $2,500.