The Fall of the House of Chestnut

Michael Phelps glides through water. Simone Biles flips through air. Usain Bolt dashes faster than any human—and most animals.

But Joey Chestnut does something arguably more impressive, more impossible, more athletic. Every July Fourth, on the day that America declared independence from the British crown, Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs. Like, a lot of them.