- 17 Contestants ate 576.5 hot dogs and buns at last year's Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

- 66 Hot Dogs were eaten in 12 minutes by 2007 winner Joey Chestnut, who won $10,000 and set a new world record.

- $39 million -- estimated media value of the TV coverage for the contest's sponsor, Nathan's.

- 69% of Americans prefer eating hot dogs on a bun.

- 15% prefer them naked with baked beans.

- 14% prefer corn dogs.

- While the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council advises that no one over age 18 use ketchup on a hot dog, 23% of people consider it their favorite topping. (Mustard wins out with 32%.)

- 1 in 6 -- odds that the beef in a beef hot dog originated in Texas.

- 1 in 4 -- odds that the pork in a pork hot dog originated in Iowa.

- Each year almost 100 million Red Hots are bought at 7-Eleven, North America's No. 1 retailer of cooked hot dogs.

- Americans spend more than $1.9 Billion at the supermarket on hot dogs annually.

- The No. 1 producer is Oscar Mayer, which sold upward of 129.5 million pounds of dogs in 2007.