A glutton for punishment

Published 11:27 pm Friday, July 4, 2008

Joey Chestnut, 24, won $10,000 at the July 4 hot-dog-eating contest, gobbling 59 wieners in 10 minutes, plus five more in an overtime round. He’s expected to use his winnings on a lifetime supply of Alka- Seltzer and tailoring services.

If you think Chestnut’s feat sounds like a cake walk, maybe you could test your gut today in Snohomish, where a 45-foot-long touring grill that can cook 2,500 hot dogs at once will be serving. Alternatively, since the weather forecast is less than stellar, you might just want to huddle around the grill to keep warm.

Identity crisis: The government is contradicting its own advice, with Medicare and the Pentagon saying Americans should carry their Social Security numbers with them, while the Federal Trade Commission says they shouldn’t because of the risk of identity theft.

When asked to explain the discrepancy, Medicare and the Pentagon said they couldn’t follow the FTC’s advice because it hadn’t been provided in triplicate on pearlescent paper and sealed by a notary public.