Tim Janus
Encyclopedia
Tim Janus is a competitive eater from New York City known in the competitive eating community as "Eater X." He is a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating
(IFOCE), and is one of the most colorful IFOCE characters, both literally and figuratively. He always performs in contests wearing a painted mask
and once stated "I'd eat anything. One of my goals is to eat everything in the world. I'd eat a roll of pennies. I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd eat an alien."
-, cannoli
-, burrito
-, and tiramisu
-eating champion of the world.
In 2006, Janus was featured on the show "True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater" along with then world-champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi
. The show showcased his daily life, including his training for different events.
In 2007, Tim was a test subject in a documentary, The Science of Speed Eating from National Geographic. He underwent an upper gastrointestinal series
and was shown to have a stomach that expands four times larger than a normal stomach. His digestive rate of the stomach was also slower than a normal human.
On July 4, 2007, just before the release of the last Harry Potter book, Janus appeared on-stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
with a sign saying "Hermione dies". Janus would later admit that the stunt led to rules against signage at competitive eating events, and that he suffered a significant amount of personal backlash for the prank.
On September 22, Tim Janus ate 10¾ 18-ounce
burritos (made of rice
, black beans, pork
, cheese
and a mild sauce wrapped in a tortilla
) in a 12 minutes to win the $3,000 Costa Vida world burrito-eating championship
.
On November 21, 2007, Tim Janus helped draw attention to the plight of New York City's homeless by consuming a Thanksgiving meal for four, including a 10-pound turkey, four pounds of mashed potatoes, three pounds of cranberry sauce, 2½ pounds of beans, and a pumpkin pie. The IFOCE donated $6,000 to Second Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, to celebrate the accomplishment. Second Harvest estimated that the donation would provide 30,000 meals to area residents.
On May 16, 2009, Janus became the third person in the history of the world to eat 50 or more hot dogs and buns in a Nathan's hot dog eating contest, consuming exactly 50 in his qualifier in Hartford, CT. In the finals on July 4, he ate 53 hot dogs.
On July 4, 2010, Eater X placed second at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest by eating 45 hot dogs and losing to Joey Chestnut who ate 54 hot dogs and buns.
He is the current champion of the Doodle Challenge, a hamburger eating contest in Connecticut
.
Janus appeared in the music video for the Boston Spaceships
song "Let it Rest for a Little While" from the band's 2009 album "Zero to 99".
in 2009, winning $100,000 before choosing to walk away, although he had surmised the correct answer to the $250,000 question. Millionaire at the time had an event called the Million Dollar Tournament of 10 where the ten highest earning contestants from the season's first 45 shows will return for a chance to answer a million dollar question, and Janus qualified as the fifth seed for the Million Dollar Prize.
He returned on November 16 to answer his Million Dollar Question.
As the game progressed, he first said that he knew the answer to the question, but it was later revealed that he was toying with Meredith, as a response to her "tricking" contestants in the Hot Seat. He had an inkling towards Winston Churchill (which was the correct answer) but decided to walk away because he was not even sure and because of the money at risk.
He also won $1600 on the Discovery Channel
show Cash Cab
with Ben Bailey
.
International Federation of Competitive Eating
The International Federation of Competitive Eating, Inc. is an organization that supervises and regulates eating contests across the globe, acting as a central resource for the sport. Top events include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, La Costena "Feel the Heat" Jalapeno Eating Challenge, and...
(IFOCE), and is one of the most colorful IFOCE characters, both literally and figuratively. He always performs in contests wearing a painted mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
and once stated "I'd eat anything. One of my goals is to eat everything in the world. I'd eat a roll of pennies. I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd eat an alien."
Career
The IFOCE's 2004 Rookie of the Year, in the summer of 2005 Janus advanced to the Final Four of the inaugural Alka Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, a single-elimination tournament featuring 32 of the world's best eaters. He is the current tamaleTamale
A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
-, cannoli
Cannoli
Cannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo , meaning "little tube", with the etymology stemming from the Latin "canna", or reed. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine...
-, burrito
Burrito
A burrito , or taco de harina, is a type of Mexican food. It consists of a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling. The flour tortilla is usually lightly grilled or steamed, to soften it and make it more pliable. In Mexico, refried beans or meat are sometimes the only fillings...
-, and tiramisu
Tiramisu
Tiramisu, , , literally "pick me up", is an Italian cake and dessert.It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, and flavored with liquor and cocoa...
-eating champion of the world.
In 2006, Janus was featured on the show "True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater" along with then world-champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi
Takeru Kobayashi
is a Japanese competitive eater. He held the world record for hot dog eating for nearly six years, and holds several other eating records, including four Guinness Records for hot dogs, meatballs, hamburgers, and pasta....
. The show showcased his daily life, including his training for different events.
In 2007, Tim was a test subject in a documentary, The Science of Speed Eating from National Geographic. He underwent an upper gastrointestinal series
Barium meal
A barium meal, also known as an upper gastrointestinal series is a procedure in which radiographs of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are taken after barium sulfate is ingested by a patient...
and was shown to have a stomach that expands four times larger than a normal stomach. His digestive rate of the stomach was also slower than a normal human.
On July 4, 2007, just before the release of the last Harry Potter book, Janus appeared on-stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition, which is run as a publicity gathering event by Shea Communications. It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in...
with a sign saying "Hermione dies". Janus would later admit that the stunt led to rules against signage at competitive eating events, and that he suffered a significant amount of personal backlash for the prank.
On September 22, Tim Janus ate 10¾ 18-ounce
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
burritos (made of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, black beans, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
and a mild sauce wrapped in a tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
) in a 12 minutes to win the $3,000 Costa Vida world burrito-eating championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
.
On November 21, 2007, Tim Janus helped draw attention to the plight of New York City's homeless by consuming a Thanksgiving meal for four, including a 10-pound turkey, four pounds of mashed potatoes, three pounds of cranberry sauce, 2½ pounds of beans, and a pumpkin pie. The IFOCE donated $6,000 to Second Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, to celebrate the accomplishment. Second Harvest estimated that the donation would provide 30,000 meals to area residents.
On May 16, 2009, Janus became the third person in the history of the world to eat 50 or more hot dogs and buns in a Nathan's hot dog eating contest, consuming exactly 50 in his qualifier in Hartford, CT. In the finals on July 4, he ate 53 hot dogs.
On July 4, 2010, Eater X placed second at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest by eating 45 hot dogs and losing to Joey Chestnut who ate 54 hot dogs and buns.
He is the current champion of the Doodle Challenge, a hamburger eating contest in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Janus appeared in the music video for the Boston Spaceships
Boston Spaceships
Boston Spaceships is a pop, punk and rock music band featuring Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices, John Moen , and Chris Slusarenko of Guided By Voices. The name of the band comes from a nickname Pollard gave to the Boston cream donut from Krispy Kreme, which is Pollard's favorite donut...
song "Let it Rest for a Little While" from the band's 2009 album "Zero to 99".
World records
- TiramisuTiramisuTiramisu, , , literally "pick me up", is an Italian cake and dessert.It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, and flavored with liquor and cocoa...
: 4 poundsPound (mass)The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
Tiramisu in 6 minuteMinuteA minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s on March 5, 2005 - Tamales: 71 in 10 minutes on September 1, 2007
- CannoliCannoliCannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo , meaning "little tube", with the etymology stemming from the Latin "canna", or reed. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine...
: 26 six-inch cannoli in 6 minutes on September 15, 2006 - Burritos: 10.75 eighteen-ounce burritos (12.1 lb) in 12 minutes on September 22, 2007
- Ramen Noodles: 10.5 lbs. noodles using chopsticks in 8 minutes on October 27, 2007
- Fried Pork RindsPork rindPork rind , is the fried or roasted skin of a pig. Frying melts most of the fat from the pork rind...
: 14.3 oz. in 6 minutes on January 31, 2008 - Nigiri Sushi: 141 pieces nigiri sushi in 6 minutes on April 11, 2008
- Boneless Buffalo Wings: 7.719 pounds in 12 minutes on May 8, 2010
- Cupcakes: 42 cupcakes in 8 minutes on April 23, 2011
Game show appearances
Tim appeared on the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a MillionaireWho Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
in 2009, winning $100,000 before choosing to walk away, although he had surmised the correct answer to the $250,000 question. Millionaire at the time had an event called the Million Dollar Tournament of 10 where the ten highest earning contestants from the season's first 45 shows will return for a chance to answer a million dollar question, and Janus qualified as the fifth seed for the Million Dollar Prize.
He returned on November 16 to answer his Million Dollar Question.
| $1 Million (Tournament of 10 #5) - 3:16 time limit (0:45+2:31 banked) | |
| Who once wrote, "'Bartlett's Familiar Quotations' is an admirable work," a quotation now listed in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"? | |
| • A: Truman Capote | • B: John Lennon |
| • C: Winston Churchill | • D: Mark Twain |
As the game progressed, he first said that he knew the answer to the question, but it was later revealed that he was toying with Meredith, as a response to her "tricking" contestants in the Hot Seat. He had an inkling towards Winston Churchill (which was the correct answer) but decided to walk away because he was not even sure and because of the money at risk.
He also won $1600 on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
show Cash Cab
Cash Cab
Cash Cab is a TV game show devised by Adam Wood that originated in the United Kingdom and has been licensed to television networks in numerous other countries...
with Ben Bailey
Ben Bailey
Benjamin Ray "Ben" Bailey is an American comedian, licensed taxi cab driver, and game show host and executive producer for Discovery Channel's Cash Cab in New York City.-Early life:...
.