5. Newent Onion Eating Contest–September; Newent-Gloucestershire, England. The highlight event of Gloucestershire’s annual Newent Onion Fayre, which dates back to the 13th century, is the eating contest. Winners must finish their onions first to get the trophy; what do their spouses get?

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6. Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest–July; Brooklyn, New York. No competitive eating list would be complete without the event that dominates ESPN every July 4th. Joey Chestnut may be its reigning champion, but most still associate Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest with Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi, the event’s longest-running prizeholder. For a $10,000 award, there’s an obvious incentive in shoving as many hotdogs down your gullet as you can in 10 minutes.