InsideNathan’sNationalHotDogEatingContest A DOGGONE GOOD TIME This Fourth of July, no hot dog is s fe. In fact, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans will consume as many as 155 million frankfurters on the holiday alone!
A mentally sedentary summer can cause your child’s learning to stagnate and backslide, erasing the equivalent of as much as two months of in-school learning. But you can have fun with your kids this summer and help them learn at the same time. Try this project from sciencebob.com, which demonstrates how geodes are formed and gives a primer on the science of crystals. The results are stunning! All you need are some clean eggshells, water, several different soluble materials (salt, sugar, baking soda, borax, cream of tartar), coffee cups, spoons, food coloring, and egg cartons. First, crack the eggs as close to the narrow end as possible. Then, clean the eggshells in hot water, which allows you to pull the skin out of the inside. Place the shells in an egg carton lined with wax paper to hold them upright. Boil the water and pour half a cup into each coffee mug, followed by ¼ cup of one of the soluble materials, stirring until it dissolves. Keep adding the solid But hey, you’re eating one, two, maybe three hot dogs tops, right? That’s small time, kid. If you’re looking to tangle with the big dogs, take a trip to Coney Island and check out the world-famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Each year, on the anniversary of America’s fateful inception, the world’s greatest eaters warm up their chompers on the biggest stage in competitive consumption. Then, in front of a cheering horde of Major League Eating fans, they feast. But, this ain’t your dad’s barbecue. The clock runs for 10 minutes, and whoever devours the greatest number of doggies — buns and all — is crowned top dog. These competitors chow down at a pace unfathomable to us mere mortals. Chew on this for a second: Last year’s champion, Joey Chestnut, dispatched a whopping 70 dogs — that’s seven a minute, folks, more than one every 10 seconds. To some, the competition is a marvelous munching media blowout. To others, it’s a truly grotesque display of
American avarice. But regardless of which side of the bun you land on, you have to agree: Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is a marvel of contemporary marketing. This Independence Day, whether you’re in the crowd at Coney Island, watching in awe as 20 adults inhale absurd quantities of film-wrapped mystery meats, or at the park, quizzically guessing at the chemical makeup of a half- eaten frankfurter on a picnic table, take a moment to thank the humble hot dog. It may be the most American meal you eat all year.
GrowCrystalsWithYourKids
slowly until the water is supersaturated — this simply means that the water has absorbed all it can and any additional solid won’t dissolve. Then, add food coloring to the solutions. See what creative color combinations your child can come up with. Carefully pour the solution into an eggshell, filling it as full as you can without the solution overflowing or the egg tipping over. As the water evaporates (be patient!) crystals will begin to form inside the eggshells. But how? As the water is heated, it expands, allowing more space for the dissolved solution. When it cools and evaporates, that space goes away, and the solids are forced to become solid again. See, science is fun and educational! Check out further science experiments on sciencebob.com, sciencekids.co.nz, or redtri.com/classic-science-experiments!
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