The one-time show featured such inanities as a hot-dog-eating contest between a man and a bear and a sumo wrestler playing tug of war with an orangutan.

It is no accident that the annual hot-dog-eating contest at Nathan's in Coney Island is held on July 4.

Luci Gutiérrez, whose illustration of the Nathan's Famous annual hot-dog-eating contest (above) appears in Goings On About Town this week, has been an illustrator for a decade, and for The New Yorker since the fall.

Celebrations the New York City metropolitan area include the fireworks display over the East River and a hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island.

Ordinarily, debate and voting on an amendment might take two legislative days, but under the rules of the reconciliation bill the senators were to dispatch the amendments one after another, as in a hot-dog-eating contest, with a minute of debate for each side.

For a bit more of a challenge, head to Nathan's on Coney Island on 4 July and enter the famous hot-dog-eating contest; the record is 53.5 dogs in 12 minutes.

I saw a tape on television the other night of the hot-dog-eating contest they held last July 4.

The balloon race is the hot-dog-eating contest of aviation.

A frightening time to visit is July 4, when Nathan's holds a hot-dog-eating contest (the record stands at Joey Chestnut's 68 in 10 minutes).

The Nathan's Famous annual hot-dog-eating contest.