Science of Speed Eating teleblog
A teleblog of the “Science of Speed Eating” documentary is available after the jump.
The show begins at last year’s Waffle contest. The 100 contests a year is mentioned, I doubt that will be correct for 2007 at least. The exclusivity contract is also mentioned.Dr. David Metz is introduced, I have difficulty placing his accent. The anatomy of the stomach is discussed and the possibility of esophageal tears is mentioned.
Bubba Yarbrough is introduced, he is listed as a rookie. Loren’s wife Jenny and two daughters are then introduced. Bubba starts a hot dog training session, says he wants to make the hot dogs as bad tasting as possible. The dunking technique is discussed. Bubba is aiming for 20 HDB in 12 minutes in his training sesssion, he manages less than 14. After eating, he tries water training to stretch his stomach. He vomits into his kitchen sink.
Bob Golic of ESPN radio, who reportedly has been asked by ESPN to cover Nathan’s, does a commercial for nutrisystem’s weight loss system.
Sonya Thomas is introduced and she lists some of her records. She is shown at her Burger King job filling fry containers. Sonya is shown at her home and claimed stomach capacity of 18 pounds is mentioned. Sonya begins a training session.
Tim Janus (wearing flip flops) is introduced and his exercise routine is mentioned. Tim undergoes a series of medical examinations. Another doctor, Jeff, will act as a control for Tim’s experience. Jeff swallows barium and then tries to eat as many hot dogs as possible in 12 minutes, his stomach appears normal. Jeff finishes at 7 HDB. Tim swallows the barium and starts eating hot dogs, he reaches 15 HDB in 6 minutes and another dose of barium is needed. The doctors are impressed with the size of Tim’s stomach. Tim quits at 36 HDB because he is sick of the taste.
After commercial, we return to a Bubba Yarbrough training session. Bubba then competes in the Atlanta Zoo qualifier and a clip from that event is shown. Bubba winds up with 15 HDB. Pat Bertoletti hanging Dale Boone in effigy is shown. Pat B, the winner, shows off his stomach. The unhealthy nature of most competitive eating food is described.
We return to Tim Janus’ examination. Tim and Jeff drink as much water as possible to determine their stomach capacity. Jeff reaches 2 liters and quits. Tim is stopped before he reaches his capacity. The risks of water training, called water intoxication, are mentioned.
The program resumes at the Cherokee ribs contest. The difficulty of judging a rib contest is described. The judges determine the results and Sonya Thomas wins easily. The question of post-contest purging is mentioned. Tim says he considers vomiters frauds. The digestion process of a competitive eater will be examined next. Dr. Metz wants to determine the digestion speed of a competitive eater. Tim and Jeff eat radioactive eggs to perform a gastric emptying test. Dr. Metz thinks that Tim’s speedeating has slowed his digestive system. Tim’s digestive speed is 1/3 slower than Jeff’s. Dr. Metz is worried about Tim’s post contest digestive health. The doctors hope that study of competitive eaters can improve the condition of people with digestive problems.
The final segment begins at the waffle contest. Sonya’s goal is 20-25 waffles. Crazy Legs Conti is wearing a hat with a picture of Elvis on top. Joey Chestnut wins the contest. Bubba bettered his last year’s mark. Bubba says he needs to monitor his health better and says he has fun regardless of his placing.
It would be interesting for the doctors to examine someone who has been retired from competitive eating for a decade or more. Lynda Kuerth would be a good choice because she definitely has/(had?) a non-standard digestive system.
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Anonymous said
July 8, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
This commentary is just outstanding and typical for what is th best ce web site on the net!
Larry Reality said
July 8, 2007 @ 9:49 pm
You gotta be kidding . This show is one big bore. If you notice the quack doctor never mentions colon cancer ruptured stomach and other deadly diseases. In his eyes finding out about what makes eaters injest so much food can provide incite in curing INDIGESTION???? Get a grip
Liz said
July 8, 2007 @ 10:02 pm
Congrats on the barium drinking record, Tim.
Very interesting stuff, though the whole slow digestion thing worries me a little. Does the stomach stretch back to normal if an eater retires?
Mega Munch said
July 8, 2007 @ 10:16 pm
Sadly, I couldn’t watch this (no National Geo channel). Didn’t I hear/read somewhere that this show will answer question about stomach stretching and whether great eaters are “born or are they made”? Were those questions answered?
Do all great eaters start with average sized stomachs and stretch them through intense training (in other words, what separates them from the rest is their dedicated to training) or do they have slightly larger natural stomachs, made even larger by intense training?
The_Hangman said (Registered August 30, 2006)
July 8, 2007 @ 10:49 pm
For two old farts, it was close who was seen the most in this documentary. Was it Super Paul’s many hats or was it The Hangman’s black cowboy hat?
At the end I was about to bodyslam a new eater as the announcer was saying this was all good fun. Then it showed three of Georgia’s “finest” hanging around backstage. Super Paul, Dale Boone and The Hangman.
Overall I thought the final cut went well. The hours of filming were edited to just around 45 minutes thanks to commercials.
My VCR worked out fine and it gives me a chance to watch it again tomorrow to see what I missed.
In the end I think the “Bubba Gang” got the most air time with “Eater X” a close second.
As I said at the beginning, two old farts, both over 50 years young, and “survivors”; still hanging in there. Even if some try to insult us by calling us “table enders”.
Old time eating fan said
July 8, 2007 @ 10:57 pm
With the exception of Jarvis names such as Lerman, BB Kevin and other old time eaters faces were deliberatly cut out of the archive footage . It was nice to see Bubba make it to the big screen but the same people get the same play over and over and over again . Its just downright sickening
Anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 1:25 am
Dr. Metz is from South Africa.
BigAlex68 said (Registered January 22, 2007)
July 9, 2007 @ 4:56 am
How much water did Tim drink before they stopped him? (Without reaching his capacity!)
Anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 5:32 am
I think it was 24 cups for Tim and 2o for the assistant.
Luther
Anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 5:38 am
I saw a lot of different eaters but it really was all about Tim and Bubba and they were really interesting but the other eaters were pretty good filler and that did help out a little bit.
Luther
The_Hangman said (Registered August 30, 2006)
July 9, 2007 @ 5:48 am
BigAlex68 said,
How much water did Tim drink before they stopped him? (Without reaching his capacity!)
Answer: On the video it said 24 cups. The control subject stopped at 20.
2400 milliliter = 81.15 ounces (or) 0.63 gallon
SuperPaul said
July 9, 2007 @ 7:08 am
too much science, not enough contest footage – but, I’m ready for my best “extra in a TV show” Emmy.
Some bad news I found out about – When I was waiting to start the Peachtree Road Race July 4th, I “ran” into the Waffle House marketing people. The main guy was telling me they may NOT have the Waffle eating contest this year, or they may move it to Dallas, Texas. I was begging him to keep it at Stone Mountain, after all, Georgia is the birthplace of Waffle House, and Stone Mountain was a great backdrop, and one of our better crowds!
Notice there has been no waffle contest announcement so far on MLE, or IFOCE? I want my breakfast!!
anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 7:46 am
Since out of shape eater wont reveal his or her identity , one must wonder if that same individual is someone that Brian mentioned in his pass article
anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 7:54 am
one big bore. I will take gutbusters2 over that any day
Rhonda Evans said
July 9, 2007 @ 7:57 am
I liked the way the show was presented, as it examined competitive eating from different perspectives. Bubba represented the “average” newcomer from anywhere USA with a good appetite who aspires to move up in the ranks among his fellow gurgitatonal brethren, but has to overcome a myriad of obstacles to do so. Bubba is driven, however, to do just that, and his ambition is grounded in reality. He knows how important it is to maintain a healthy regimen of diet and exercise in the process. The inclusion and support of Bubba’s family really gives heart to his presentation.
Sonya represented the successful eater who quickly ascended to the top of the ranks through more natural talent, though she still needs to train, so that she can maintain her cutting edge competitive level and perhaps further improve, as top eating veterans like Tim Janus move up in the ranks. (However, as Sonya maintains on her Web site, I don’t think she trains very much at all, except for speed.)
Tim represents an experienced speed eater who has trained his stomach to accommodate vast quantities of food, and the study that was conducted to compare his digestive process with that of an ordinary person really helped the viewer understand the sompetitive eater from a medical perspective.
It would be very interesting to see the results of a longitudinal study over, say 5 – 20 years, examining the effects of competitive eating on one’s digestive and circulatory systems.
Overall, I thought the show was quite well done! I learned a lot!
Rhonda Evans said
July 9, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Old Time Eating Fan: You must crave “B” movies, in favor of those with the more popular actors. 🙂 I like Fred Funk and Darren Clarke in golf, but I’d rather watch Tiger and Phil Mickelson any day of the week!
Besides, I saw the faces of many lesser known eaters more than once.
Steakbellie said (Registered August 11, 2006)
July 9, 2007 @ 11:36 am
Bubba’s scenes could have been filmed in my own kitchen, as it has played out just like that time and again. I can really identify with his drive and determination and how to balance that with his homelife. Great TV.
I would have liked MORE science actually. I wish they had followed the egg longer to see if digestion times have been altered further on ‘down the road’ past the stomach. Also maybe an egg test with a full stomach load (instead of the tiny meal). I’d like to see some blood chemistry comparisions, maybe like the Sugar Test that they give pregnant chicks, to see if Tims body has changed chemically as well.
Another interesting thing would be to see the absorbtion rates of calories/nutrients. Perhaps Tim’s body has learned to ‘ignore’ and just pass some of the food without processing as much.
Electroshock Therapy might have made for good TV.
Also some of the things they said didnt jibe with me, like when they said it takes 30-40 hours to excrete waste, (I’m not trying to be gross here, but physiological) I can remember countless time winning the ‘Corn Race’ against my college roomates in 12 hours. So I’d love to hear more about that.
They could have tested the Belt of Fat theroy.
I wish they had done tests on Sonya as well, it was pretty cool to see her at work though. I have a theory that Female organs could potentially move out of the way easier because of their ability to carry a child. That may not be true, but I would be very interested to see how the other organs were effected by the enlarged stomach. Do Men and Women process food differently?
I’m about 10 blocks from Dr Metz at UPENN right now, maybe I should sign up for some classes!
Overall a nicely done show that treated CE with respect. LOVED seeing SuperPaul!!!
BigAlex68 said (Registered January 22, 2007)
July 9, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Thank you for answering my question Luther and Hangman, I have to wait until they (ESPN and Nat Geo) schedule Nathan’s and Science of Speed Eating for Latin America TV.
carey poehlmann said
July 9, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Shock treatment and the corn race! That will be the title of the follow up documentary. I also would have liked to know more about the stomach affecting other organs, and what amount of time a stuffed stomach needs to evacuate. I think the problem is with the use of all that radioactive material. Small studies are harmless enough, but when you get into long term studying, the body starts to get affected. That is the concern with too many x-rays.
Perhaps if they asked the CE community what types of questions they always wanted answered first, and then performed experiments based off of that, we would be more entertained.
Hey steakbellie, we should do our own experiments by swallowing a whole bunch of small magnets and rolling around in iron dust! Then we can get a real time visual of everything going on in there.
Anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
Tests cost a lot of money. The show had a budget. They couldn’t do everything to everyone.
Steakbellie said (Registered August 11, 2006)
July 9, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
Carey,
You go first!
Anon,
I give the show very high marks, certainly they couldnt do everything, and I think the level of Science involved was perfect for the General Audience. For me, it just created more questions and curiosity and I hope they get enough interest to do further study/shows.
Anonymous said
July 9, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
super paul clam down
waffle is still a go
just someone is asking for way to much M-O-N-E-Y
big win comes big E-G-O