You’ll recall that on July 4th, Takeru Kobayashi supposedly ate 69 hot dogs during an unsanctioned eating competition atop a Manhattan bar. (The official record stands at 68 hot dogs eaten in a single standing.) Well, turns out Kobayashi might not have even eaten 69 dogs after all. A new video released would seem to indicate the official scorekeeper number-flipper standing behind him was basically flipping the numbers at random. As Gothamist points out, it’s difficult to tell exactly how many dogs Kobayashi is actually eating, since he mushes them all up before downing them. Anyway, we’ve embedded the video below if you want to take a look (or, if you’re having a slow day and want to attempt an official count). Not that any of this really matters all that much, especially considering Nathan’s event organizer George Shea’s official stance on the whole charade: “If you’re not competing in person, that’s like running on your treadmill while you watch the Boston Marathon, then saying that you won.”
Takeru Kobayashi’s hot dog eating ‘world record’ disputed; Joey Chestnut’s previous record stands [NYDN]
Earlier: Kobayashi Sets Possible Hot-Dog World Record
