IMAGE: Marines stationed in North China participate in a pie-eating contest, c. 1941. Ray S. Robinson Collection (COLL/1940), U.S. Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections. CC by 2.0.

I’ve got an article up on Lapham’s Quarterly about the shocking history of pie eating contests:

Competitive eating contests have become common today, from the fictionalized pie-eating in the movie Stand by Me to the annual Fourth of July hot-dog-eating competition at Coney Island. Where these events came from and how they evolved over time—from masculine showdowns and competitions with racist overtones to family-friendly events—proved surprising.

Read the entire article here!