Eating Contests

Upon my return to "civilization," I was once again exposed to a guilty pleasure, television.  But instead of a nice Murder, She Wrote marathon or some such, I tumbled across some disgusting Coney Island hotdog eating contest.

Televised eating contests - what screwed-up brain ever thought these things up?  I can see it now - sitting around one day, somebody says "hey - lets watch some people eat until they puke.  Wouldn't that be fun?"  Now, doesn't THAT sound socially redeeming?

I suspect that you, dear readers, can remember being at the dinner table as a child, glumly staring at lima beans or Brussels sprouts or some other god-forsaken foodstuff and your mother would threaten "eat your vegetables - there are people starving in Africa!"

Now we glorify overeating?  Now?  When America is suddenly noticing it's way overweight (and people are still starving in Africa).  The Food Channel even made a TV show out of overindulging.  This is one Guinness category we could do without.  

But no, there are ratings to be had.  Let's pander to the lowest common denominator.