This Game Ain’t Worth the Candle

Joey Chestnut holds a lot of hot dogs (Gray/Getty/Mercury News)

It wouldn't be a Fourth of July without Nathan's hot dog eating contest. The victor was multiple winner Joey Chestnut:

Famed competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut reclaimed his title Friday at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot-dog eating contest after after skipping last year’s gastronomic battle in New York for the coveted Mustard Belt.

Chestnut, 41, consumed 70½ hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, falling short of his record of 76 wieners and buns set on July 4, 2021. It marked the 17th win in 20 appearances for the Westfield, Indiana, eater at the internationally televised competition, which he missed in 2024 over a contract dispute.

“I wish I ate a couple more. Sorry guys,” a smiling Chestnut told the crowd, many chanting his name. “I’ll be back next year.”

Defending champion in the women’s division, Miki Sudo of Tampa, Florida, won her 11th title, downing 33 dogs, besting a dozen competitors. Last year, she ate a record 51 links.

Your humble blogger would feel ill if he ate more than two hot dogs, which raises the question: Is participating in Nathan’s hot dog eating contest harmful to one's health? Grok's answer:

Participating in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest can pose health risks due to the extreme nature of competitive eating. Here’s a breakdown of potential concerns based on available information:

Short-Term Risks:

Choking and Aspiration: Consuming large quantities of food rapidly, like 60-70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, increases the risk of choking or inhaling food particles, which can lead to asphyxiation or aspiration pneumonia. Posts on X have mentioned concerns about choking during such events.

Gastric Distress: Overloading the stomach can cause nausea, vomiting, or even gastric rupture in rare cases. The stomach may stretch beyond its normal capacity, leading to discomfort or injury.

Electrolyte Imbalances: Rapid intake of high-sodium hot dogs (about 700-800 mg sodium per hot dog) can disrupt electrolyte balance, potentially causing hyponatremia (low sodium levels) if paired with excessive water intake, as noted in discussions about competitive eating risks.

Cardiovascular Strain: The high fat and sodium content (a typical hot dog has ~14g fat and ~500-800mg sodium) consumed in large quantities can spike blood pressure and stress the heart, especially during intense physical exertion.

Long-Term Risks:

Digestive System Damage: Repeatedly stretching the stomach and esophagus may weaken muscles or lead to conditions like gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying) or esophageal tears. Some sources suggest competitive eaters train to expand stomach capacity, which can alter normal digestive function over time.

Metabolic Issues: Frequent consumption of high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sodium foods during training and competition may contribute to obesity, heart disease, or diabetes, especially if not balanced with a healthy lifestyle. A 2020 study on competitive eating noted elevated cholesterol levels in some participants post-event.

Nutritional Deficiencies: Focusing on contest foods can lead to poor dietary habits, lacking essential nutrients from a balanced diet.

Mitigating Factors:

Competitive eaters often train extensively, conditioning their bodies to handle large food volumes, which may reduce some risks. For example, they practice techniques to relax the stomach or manage swallowing.

Top competitors like Joey Chestnut are often in good physical health otherwise, suggesting that occasional participation by trained individuals may not always lead to severe harm.

Context from Sources:

Web sources, like posts on X, highlight public fascination with the contest but also concern about health impacts, with some calling it “gluttony” or questioning long-term effects.

No direct studies on Nathan’s contestants exist, but general research on competitive eating (e.g., a 2018 article in Gastroenterology) notes the body’s resilience but warns of potential for acute injury or chronic digestive issues.

Conclusion:

Participating in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest carries notable short-term risks like choking, gastric distress, and electrolyte imbalances, with potential long-term effects on digestive and metabolic health. Trained competitors may mitigate some dangers, but the extreme nature of the event makes it inherently risky. For most people, the health costs likely outweigh the benefits of participation. If you’re considering competing, consulting a doctor and training carefully would be critical.Disclaimer: Grok is not a doctor; please consult one. Don't share information that can identify you.

if watching a sport where no one is injured on a play still makes me wince, then that sport is not for me.

Independence Day, 2025

One path to success is to be the world's best in a sought-after skill. Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams says that the vast majority of us who aren't so gifted should work on our talent stack,[bold added]

developing a variety of skills which combine to make someone a sought-after commodity.

Adams describes his own talent stack in the following terms: “I am a famous syndicated cartoonist who doesn’t have much artistic talent, and I’ve never taken a college-level writing class. But few people are good at both drawing and writing. When you add in my ordinary business skills, my strong work ethic, my risk tolerance, and my reasonably good sense of humor, I’m fairly unique."

Your humble blogger is an adequate accountant--but far from the best--and I have reasonably competent communication skills leavened by a sense of humor.

On this Independence Day let all our talent stacks be good enough to provide a decent standard of living for ourselves and our families.

Mercury News: Cancelling my Subscription

After the sign-up teaser rate, payments are markedly higher

Last year we signed up for the San Jose Mercury News electronic-only subscription at the $14 per month discounted rate. When it raised the price in December, we acquiesced to $28/mo., which seemed right-priced because the San Francisco Chronicle ($34/mo.) and Wall Street Journal ($39/mo.) both of which in my opinion had more content, superior reporting, higher quality, and better writing.

In June the Mercury News billed my credit card a fee of $47, which I thought was so out of line from the previous month's $28 that it must have been a mistake or included some non-recurring charges. In July the Mercury News charged $49.

I called customer service to cancel the subscription. I did ask the representative if the Merc had erred by thinking that I had a print subscription. No, she knew I was e- only. I explained that I was upset at their billing practices. She offered to lower the price to $14 per month. How long would that rate be good for? She evaded an answer. She threw out an offer of $4 per month when I didn't budge. At that point there was no price--even zero--at which I would continue to do business.

The CSR said that my subscription will end on July 25th and billing will cease. We'll see; trust is easily lost and difficult to restore.

Inflammaging

Almost every death of a person I know in my age cohort is attributable to cancer.

The following hypothesis has previously made sense: medicine has advanced to such an extent that fewer people are dying of heart attacks, strokes, or sudden trauma; chronic diseases are far more difficult to treat, hence there are more deaths from cancer. However, the aforementioned is only a partial explanation; researchers have discovered that aging immune systems are less able to fight off cancer. [bold added]

(Image from Science Direct)

...studies of individual immune cells in human lung tumors, as well as in old mice, have revealed how chronic, or pathogenic, inflammation in older people—dubbed inflammaging—interferes with the immune system and fuels cancer growth...

Inflammation is the immune system’s reaction to a threat. Immune cells circulate in the body, attacking invaders such as viruses and cancer and calling for backup—more immune cells—when necessary. Working correctly, they can beat back Covid-19 or heal a cut on the finger. But the immune system can also overreact, fueling inflammation that gets in the way of healing or leads to disease. It misfires like this more as people age....

Often the assumption is that older people get sick more easily because their immune systems weaken, says Dr. Thomas Marron, a thoracic medical oncologist who heads the early-phase trials unit at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute. That does happen, he says, but at the same time, “we really are seeing this sort of hyperactivation.”

“The body is just basically like a flower bed primed to grow cancer as you get older,” he says.

As a person ages, the immune system has to work harder to kill infections or mutations, like cancer. But the immune system itself is aging and produces fewer of the type of immune cell that targets and kills cancer cells. At the same time, it makes more of a type of immune cell that responds initially to infections. Known as myeloid cells, with aging they become more inclined to overreact and create inflammaging. These inflammatory cells may provide a “hit” necessary for older cells with mutations to turn cancerous, says [Dr. Miriam] Merad of Mount Sinai.

Combatting defective immunity systems is only of several approaches that are being explored in the race to cure cancer. 54 years after Richard Nixon announced a War on Cancer the path to an eventual victory no longer appears to be impossible.

It's a Look At Me World

"Small World" in 2016, my last time at Disneyland

Fellow patrons can ruin group experiences like movies in theaters and classical music concerts. The obnoxious behavior has even spread to Disneyland. [bold added]

As the lights dim in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, the famous Paul Frees narration begins.

“Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion,” he intones. “I am your host — your ghost host. Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now.”

If you are lucky, you can listen to Frees’ chilling voice as it was intended. But nine times out of 10, someone talks along, mimicking Frees’ iconic cadence. This isn’t a new phenomenon — but we’re long past the point of calling out Disney guests who selfishly do this.

No one comes to Disneyland with a dream of hearing random strangers recite voice-overs. Just because you’ve been on a ride enough times to memorize the spiel doesn’t mean others have. It’s one thing to laugh, clap or otherwise quietly enjoy an attraction. It’s quite another to become a distraction.

For some, Disneyland could be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so you may be tainting someone’s first and only opportunity to enjoy the theme park.

Talking on rides doesn’t just extend to mimicking voice-overs. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean in silence. There’s always a party in one of the rows chatting about dinner plans or catching up on Sharon’s latest dating drama. First-timers are at the mercy of regulars who apparently view the experience as a moving park bench. If your conversation can’t wait 15 minutes, you shouldn’t be getting on a ride.

On a recent trip, the group behind me — full-grown adults who had met up after work — spent the bayou scene arguing about how loud they should scream on the ride’s upcoming drop. Later, on “it’s a small world,” a dad with his kids began aggressively shifting his weight back and forth to make the boat rock. Another adult in his party laughed along as he proceeded to ruin the ride for everyone else — and model terrible behavior for the next generation of Disney guests sitting beside him.

Look at me because I know the words to "small world" or what comes next on the ride. It only takes a few bad apples to spoil the barrel.

There will be no resurgence of humility and civility, as Pride, which is often regarded as the worst of the seven deadly sins, is not only accepted but celebrated in the month of June.