Tag: contest

what to do with old Halloween pumpkins

Now that Halloween is over, I’m sure you are all wondering the same thing — what am I to do with all my leftover pumpkins?  Well, after extensive research* on pumpkin uses I found just the answer to this age-old question of the leftover pumpkin conundrum.  I hereby introduce you to the “World Championship Punkin’ Chunkin’ Contest” (more info here) held each year in Millsboro, Delaware.  This year it will be on Nov 2, 3 and 4.  Teams will travel from far and wide to see just how far a pumpkin can be chunked or who can chunk one with the most accuracy.  Each team brings their own launching device, whether a catapult or a trebuchet or something original.  In fact a world record was set back in 2003 when a pumpkin was launched an astonishing 4,434 feet.

“How did this all come about?” you might ask.  Well, here is a snippet from an interview with one of the Punkin’ Chunkin’ founders :

“It all started back in 1986,” said Ellsworth.  “We were playing around one day and somebody started talking about throwing pumpkins.  There had been an article in a newspaper or on television about some people throwing pumpkins at Salisbury State.  A physics class or something.  One of us said that they could throw further than someone else… The longest shot that year … was 126′.”

*no “real” research was done.  I was surfing the web and stumbled across the site.  (The website also has pictures of the various devices used, and there’s some videos in the 2004 gallery.)

people who eat massive amounts of food at one sitting

I saw a news article where someone called “Eater X” ate 12 pounds of burritos in 12 minutes.  After his victory, he said, “I love Mexican food.”  Obviously!  He was competing for $3,000 in prize money.  He said he prepared for the contest by eating candy the previous day.

That news led me to the Major League Eating website, where I saw a profile for someone who is amazing when it comes to eating, who demolished the hot dog eating record.

Many consider Takeru Kobayashi the most dominant living athlete.  His feat on July 4th, 2001, of downing 50 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes doubled the previous record and left entire continents agape with disbelief.  Since that fateful day, his gurgitating prowess has gone almost uncontested and his feats have left people shaking their heads.  In a televised Japanese contest known as “Weight Crash”, Kobayashi once gained a staggering 27 pounds in 45 minutes.

I wouldn’t consider him the most dominant living athlete — especially after eating like that! — but I must admit that is impressive.  I’ve been at a party where some friends had a hot dog eating contest, and I think the winner got to about 8.  (I didn’t participate; if only it had been back in my high school days when I still had a metabolism…)

Imagine how big 50 hot dogs with buns would be in a pile — it would be several feet high!  Then imagine someone eating all those!  That is a LOT of bread to consume at once.  I don’t see how someone can do that… it’s like eating is his super power…