Q 01/05

The Nathan's Famous hot dog contest is held at the corner of which two Brooklyn avenues?

A) Surf and Stillwell

B) Neptune and Ocean

C) Mermaid and West 12th

D) Brighton and Coney Island

Answer · why

A) Surf and Stillwell

The men's winner gets a bejeweled yellow belt of 'unknown age and value'; the women's champion gets a pink one.

Q 02/05

The story that Nathan's contest began with four immigrants in 1916 was admitted in 2010 to be what?

A) A true story with the wrong year

B) A publicity stunt invented in the 1970s

C) A misremembered Labor Day event

D) A rival vendor's version of events

Answer · why

B) A publicity stunt invented in the 1970s

Promoter Morty Matz confessed he and Max Rosey made it up; The New York Times had repeated the 1916 date for years.

Q 03/05

Who won the first women-only Nathan's contest in 2011, eating 40 hot dogs?

A) Miki Sudo

B) Michelle Lesco

C) Sonya Thomas

D) Juliet Lee

Answer · why

C) Sonya Thomas

Nicknamed the Black Widow, she took home the inaugural Pepto-Bismol pink belt and $10,000.

Q 04/05

Which network has broadcast the Nathan's contest live since 2004?

A) Fox Sports

B) NBC

C) Food Network

D) ESPN

Answer · why

D) ESPN

Its most recent rights deal keeps the July 4 spectacle on air through 2029.

Q 05/05

Why was reigning champion Joey Chestnut barred from the 2024 Nathan's contest?

A) He signed a deal with a plant-based hot dog brand

B) He failed the official pre-contest weigh-in

C) He skipped the mayor's pre-contest press conference

D) He was caught soaking his buns in warm water

Answer · why

A) He signed a deal with a plant-based hot dog brand

Nathan's asked that Impossible Foods' hot dogs be exempted from his contract; Major League Eating said no, and Chestnut ate at Fort Bliss instead.