Hot Dog! Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

Nathan's Famous began as a nickel hot dog stand in 1916, after Nathan Handwerker and his wife Ida spent their life savings, near $3,000, on the stand. At a time when hot dogs were suspect for their contents, the Handwerker's made sure all employees wore safety masks, a reassurement to customers that helped business.

The Handwerker family sold the franchise to a group of private investors, who since have made it a publicly traded company.

Answer: Fourth of July

On July 4, 1916 there was a small hot dog eating contest at Nathan's first stand, between four immigrants, over who was the most patriotic. July is also National Hot Dog Month, which makes Independence Day a logical choice. In 1993, a one-on-one contest was held under Brooklyn Bridge between competitive eaters Michael DeVito and Orio Ito. A 1978 contest also occurred on Memorial Day.

Answer: Coney Island

The Long Island theme park is home to the first and most famous Nathan's restaurant, at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in south Brooklyn. The contest starts at noon, and has been broadcast on ESPN since 2004. The event brought a new record in 2011, of over 40,000, to the small community on the Atlantic Ocean shore.

Answer: 10 Minutes

20 contestants, all over the age of 18, have ten minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as possible. The length has changed, settling on 10 minutes in 2008, after being as high as 12. The initial contest, back in 1916, lasted 12 minutes, and the 1972 and 1974 battles lasted only 3.5 minutes.

Answer: Major League Eating

Brothers George and Richard Shea took over the contest in the mid-90's, and succeeded at bringing in more revenue and business opportunities. The brothers than founded the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) in 1997, to organize events and other TV deals. IFOCE later changed it's name to a shorter "Major League Eating". The group is based out of New York City.

Answer: 13

Four probably would have been my score!

Four people were arguing over who was the most patriotic to the United States, and Handwerker feared that this argument could turn violent, and destroy his new hot dog cart, which counted as most of his life savings. The contest was held every year, and just over a hot dog per minute was the average all the way up to the late 1980s, when numbers began to skyrocket.

Answer: 2011

The first women's competition was won by Sonya Thomas, who downed 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes, with Juliet Lee (29.5) and Stephanie Torres (28.5) rounding out the podium. Before 2011, women had to compete with men together, with Thomas competing as far back as 2003. The winner of the female competition walks away with the "Pink Belt".

Answer: William Perry

Perry won a celebrity qualifier, by eating 12 hot dogs. However, in the big show, Perry stopped eating five minutes in, after eating four dogs. Weighing in at 410 pounds, Perry's training regimen was to just "eat hot dogs". After Perry dropped out, he was parodied on Saturday Night Live, after Takeru Kobayashi, the 2003 winner, saved the day by eating hot dogs. Perry appears and says "Damn" in Japanese.

Answer: He was arrested

Due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating, Kobayashi did not compete in the 2010 event. The six-time champ was present at the event, and tried to storm the stage after Joey Chestnut downed 54 hot dogs to take his fourth consecutive title. Kobayashi was taken away in a handcuffs after a small scuffle with police. All charges were dropped, and in 2011, his name was removed from the "Wall of Fame".

Answer: The Mustard Belt

The mustard-yellow belt is wrapped around the waist of the winner, and according to George Shea is of "unknown age and value". With the run of Japanese titles at the start of the 2000's, the belt was put on permanent display at the Imperial Palace in Saitma, Japan. Cash prizes are also awarded, with the winner taking home $10,000 as well, as well as the belt and a full stomach.