I went to a holiday event held by a ham manufacturer at Saitama suburb, and watched hotdog eating contest. Participants competed how long he/she can eat an one-meter-long hotdog in five minutes. Among casual attendant daddies, a "professional food fighter" participated, who is a friend of world hotdog eating champion, T.Kobayashi(http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/hotdog.fourth/). He had brought his own bowl and tea. His strategy was to tear the bread in chunks and dip them into the tea, then eat them quickly (the sausage is relatively easy). He ate 70cm and won. The average records of casual daddies was about 35cm. Well, some might feel it kinda wet-blanket: Kobayashi's victory in 2001 was somewhat controversial at that time, too. But it was interesting for me. There is an interesting article on these food-fighters (or professional gurgitators). It seems that American fighters are accepting non-traditional foreigners. http://www.thesquaretable.com/fall02/ifoce.htm
