Legend has it that the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating contest started in 1916, the year of its inception, with a competition between four immigrants to see who was the most patriotic. They determined the winner by seeing who could eat the most hot dogs in a given time.  An odd way of showing patriotism, but it caught on, and in 1972, the first officially recorded Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was held at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.