Ladies prepare to eat 20,000 calories of hot dogs

The Ladies who lunch... a lot: Hot dog hotties prepare to eat 20,000 calories in Monday's contest

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 10:00 PM on 2nd July 2011

When these ladies who lunch go out to eat, they know how to put away an awful lot.

These four women are going head to head in the first ever women's eat-off  at the Coney Island hot dog eating contest on Monday.

Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas, who is the favourite to take the title is hoping to beat her personal best and women's world record of 41 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes.

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Ladies who lunch: Contenders LaRelle Marie Mele, Juliet Lee, Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas and Laura Leu are getting ready to eat

The 42-year-old Burger King manager from Alexandria, Virginia, came fourth in last year's competition, and is hoping to become the first women to raise female competition's pink belt trophy and the $10,000 prize money.

The women said that they have always been big eaters.

'I didn't have a lot of talents growing up, but I could always eat, and my parents always said I had a big mouth,' said Laura Leu, 33, a food writer from Brooklyn, who used to be a cheerleader at the contest.

Ms Thomas' main rival for the prize will be Juliet Lee, 45, from Maryland who works as a beautician. She has previously managed to chomp through 28 hot dogs in the contest.

Fellow contender LaRelle Marie Mele, 47, a personal trainer from Pennsylvania, added: 'To me, this excitement is similar to when women were given the right to vote.'

Face off: Sonya Thomas and Joey Chestnut are preparing for the contest

CHAMPION EATERS

2010: Joey Chestnut (54 hot dogs)

2009: Joey Chestnut (68)

2008: Joey Chestnut (59)

2007: Joey Chestnut (66)

2006: Takeri Kobayashi (54)

Contestants have ten minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they can

In the male competition, Hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut estimates he will eat about 20,000 calories in one go at the eating contest, but he says his doctor doesn't mind.

'In the long run I'm really not consuming that many more calories than most people,' the four-time Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest champion said ahead of the annual Fourth of July eat-off.

'I run. I really try to stay healthy. I count my calories rigorously when I'm not doing the contests,' he said.

On Friday, Chestnut gathered near New York's City Hall with other eaters including the presumed female front-runner, 105-pound Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas.

Reigning champion: In 2009, Mr Chestnut set a world record when he ate 68 hot hot dogs in 10 minutes

This is the first year Nathan's is holding a separate eat-off for women.

The San Jose, California, resident said that at 27, he's young enough to get away with his competitive binging for a few more years.

His doctor checks his blood work and has told him not to worry as long as he gives himself time to recover, doesn't gain weight and doesn't develop diabetes, Mr Chestnut said.

Mr Chestnut is 6'1" and weighs 218 pounds.

A physically active man of his age, weight and height should be eating 3,200 calories a day to maintain his weight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Get ready: Mayor Michael Bloomberg oversees the official weigh-in of Joey Chestnut, favourite to win Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

In 2009, the contest's reigning champion set a world record when he ate 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Last year, he won with just 54 dogs.

Last year's competition was overshadowed by the arrest of previous six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi, who jumped on the stage after Mr Chestnut's victory.

The 33-year-old from Japan had refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating and so was barred from competing.

This year, Mr Kobayashi will hold his own unofficial event miles away on a Manhattan rooftop. He'll watch the Nathan's contest on TV and try to out-eat all the competitors.

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Russian team plays in bikinis to bring back fans

Cash-strapped Russian team to play in bikinis to bring back fans

A Russian women's football team who have struggled to attract fans during the recent economic downturn have come up with a unique method of drawing in the crowds - playing their next match in bikinis. 

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FC Rossiyanka have vowed to play their next match in bikinis to boost crowds - it might just work

In a significant step backwards for women's football in its quest for equality alongside the men, FC Rossiyanka from Krasnoarmeysk near Moscow have made the pledge after seeing gate receipts continue to tumble this season.

Despite first impressions, the club appear to be a serious outfit.

Founded in 1990, FC Rossiyanka have won the Russian Women's Premier League three times, in 2005, 2006 and 2010, and qualified for the recently established Women's Champions League twice - both times reaching the last-16. 

But coach Tatyana Egorova says that, despite their success, they are still under-rated - and hopes the publicity stunt will help money matters off the field. 

'We are the best woman's team in Russia and have won many championships, even representing our country in the Uefa Champions League,' Egorova explained.

'But few people have ever heard of us and we don't get many people coming to games so we've decided to give our profile a boost by appearing in bikinis.

'We hope it will also improve the numbers of tickets we sell.

'We think it's a good idea - our players are beautiful, great athletes and determined to win.'

Unsurprisingly, their publicity shoot to promote the event is already receiving pretty good coverage on mainstream news networks in Russia.

Hmmm... didn't see that one coming.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/867921-cash-strapped-russian-team-to-play-in-bikinis-to-bring-back-fans#ixzz1Qx8A5qjF

Scotch Whiskey gets a boost from South Korea

South Korea lifts Scotch Whisky trade barriers

South Korea has lifted trade barriers to imports from the European Union, with Scotch whisky likely to be one of the biggest and most immediate benefactors.

Scotch was the biggest import from the UK in 2010, with the most sought-after brands Windsor, Imperial Classic and Scotch Blue. Macallan and Glenfiddich Photo: PA

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo

3:18PM BST 01 Jul 2011

Comment

The largest free trade agreement signed to date between the EU and an Asian country went into effect on July 1, meaning an end to the 20 per cent import duty on spirits as well as complicated rules on labelling and storage.

The government in South Korea has also promised to protect genuine Scotch from imitations.

"South Korea is already the sixth largest export market in the world for Scotch by value and the ninth by volume, so we see this as having a fairly significant benefit to the whisky industry," said Rob Allanson, editor of Whisky Magazine.

"In South Korea, it is very much a young person's drink and there is a real thirst for knowledge," he said. "They're eager to try it out and, rather like in China, they are playing with whisky in cocktails and with local ingredients."

Scotch was the biggest import from the UK in 2010, with the most sought-after brands Windsor, Imperial Classic and Scotch Blue. Macallan and Glenfiddich.

Woman goes from J to C cup to get a body not just a bust...

'I had my 36J breasts reduced to stop being groped in the street,' says woman who was jeered every time she left the house

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 2:46 PM on 1st July 2011

Gemma Westmoreland had her huge 34J breasts reduced - because she was fed up of being groped by strangers.

She shed one and a half stone in the NHS operation and said it's transformed her life.

The 26-year-old said she was jeered at in the street, regularly had both men and women grab her chest on nights out, and needed to wear two bras for support.

Gemma Westmoreland before her operation had 36J breasts which men - and women - regularly groped whenever she left the house

With the breast reduction surgery she's dropped 14 cup sizes - from J to C - and halved her dress size, from 16 to 8.

'I was getting unwanted attention from both sexes,' said Gemma, from, Barnsley, east Yorkshire.

'People thought that because they were so big they could grab them. I would be out in town and people thought they had free rein to grope me.

'It didn't matter what town I was in. I would be walking down the street and people would shout jeers of "they can't be real." It was horrible to be me before this operation.

'I had to wear two bras, which made me feel very self-conscious when I was getting intimate or personal.

'I don't think I'm the same person now. I feel 100 per cent better. I couldn't be happier. Family and friends say I'm smiling a lot more. It's the best thing I've ever done, no question.

'I've now got a body rather than just a bust. I would walk down the street and people would just see the bust.

'Too many people wanted to touch, too many people thought they were something they could grab. It wasn't what I wanted.

'I'd be out at bars in town and men and women would want to touch, like they were my party piece. I just had enough of people grabbing, touching and wanting to have a look.

'People assumed that because they were so big I'd had them enhanced. I certainly hadn't. It was a recurring thing and it was attention that I didn't want.

Relief: Miss Westmoreland says the surgery transformed her life and she can enjoy herself on nights out at last

'Now I can walk down the street and people aren't fixated with that part of my body anymore. No one wants to grab or give me a feel. It's great.' 

Gemma, who is just 4ft 11in, was suffering severe back pain from the weight she was carrying and had been warned that the problem would get worse with age.

'Before the operation I got on the scales and I was 12st. Afterwards, even with all the swelling from the surgery, I was 10-and-a-half,' said Gemma, a telephonist for bookmakers William Hill.

She originally requested surgery seven years ago when she was 19 and living in Farnborough, Hampshire.

'I told the surgeon I was gay because he asked about me breastfeeding and I explained that I wasn't expecting to have kids.

'As soon as I said I was gay he told me he wouldn't be able to provide surgery on the NHS.

'To go private, and this is a few years ago, would have cost £7,000 and I didn't have that kind of money.'

She decided to have the operation as the extra weight she was carrying hurt her back and she'd had enough of the abuse.

She visited her GP and within three months she had the three-hour operation at Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital.

Surgery went well but Gemma developed an infection in her right breast two weeks later, which was treated at Barnsley Hospital.

She had stitches and was treated with antibiotics to fight the infection and is pleased with the results.

'My surgeons were absolutely brilliant and I'm glad I had it done.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010187/Gemma-Westmoreland-36J-breasts-reduced-stop-groped-street.html#ixzz1Qx5OmqhL

Amazing pictures of Titanic captain's bathtub on ocean floor

Plumbing the depths: Amazing pictures of Titanic captain Edward Smith's bathtub intact on the bottom of the ocean

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Created 12:42 PM on 1st July 2011

This amazing picture of Titanic Captain Edward Smith's private bathtub is among a series of spectacular images that have been shown for the first time during a court case into the salvage rights.

The porcelain tub, which has intricate plumbing for both freshwater and seawater, has sat in the captain's cabin at the bottom of the ocean for almost 100 years.

Captain Smith went down with his ship on April 14,1912. He was one of an estimated 1500 people who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Frozen in time: The bath in Captain Edward Smith's cabin aboard the Titanic is in remarkably good condition

Captain Edward John Smith went down with the Titanic

Scientists showed never-seen-before images in a Virginia courtroom during an ongoing case into salvage rights.

Those present at the federal court room in Norfolk were given 3-D glasses to take a virtual tour of the Titanic’s stern, which lies 2,000 feet (609 meters) from the bow.

They were shown a series of dramatic three-dimensional views of the rusting hulk and the ghostly images of the sea floor where the ship sank almost a century ago.

The team who took part in a 2010 expedition to the North Atlantic wreck site said the images, taken from a remote-controlled submersible vehicle, are the most extensive and highest quality ever taken of the Titanic. 

The ongoing salvage claim is still in dispute 26 years after the Titanic was discovered by oceanographer Robert Ballard.

Doomed: The 'unsinkable' Titanic setting sail from Southampton in 1912

A lifeboat crane, known as a davit, hangs over the edge of the Titanic's hull where it had been used to lower wooden boats over the side

This shot of two first class cabin windows is among the never-seen-before images of the Titanic taken during the 2010 expedition

The company has exclusive rights to salvage the wreck, and has gathered nearly 6,000 objects from the once-opulent cruise ship. They are valued in excess of $110 million.

Many veterans of past Titanic expeditions were recruited for the 2010 trip which was organised by RMS Titanic Inc.

The team used the latest recording technologies, stitching together images in a mosaic-like process to create large-scale, almost panoramic views of the wreck.

It allowed them to map the 3-by-5-mile(4.8-by-8 kilometre) wreck site, which is located 2 1/2 miles (4 kilometres) below the ocean’s surface. The experts said the entire debris field has now been documented for the first time.

These well-preserved bath taps were salvaged on an earlier expedition to the wreck

The ship's bell and a crystal decanter salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic 

Scientists said the images will eventually allow members of the public to take a virtual tour of the Titanic using a joystick to navigate around the wreck. 

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith ruled last year that RMS Titanic is entitled to full compensation for the Titanic trove, but has not determined how it will be paid. 

This week's hearing was intended, in part, to demonstrate the extraordinary costs to RMS Titanic of organizing the risky expeditions and salvage operations. 

The seas above the wreck are commonly raked by fierce storms, and the wreck site is pitch black and subject to powerful deep-ocean currents.

William N. Lange of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts said: 'We have an image of everything. That’s what’s important.

'This has never been done before in the deep sea.'

An exhibition about the doomed liner is running until July 31 at the O2 Bubble in London

Since Ballard and an international team discovered the Titanic, most of the expeditions have either been to photograph the wreck or gather thousands of artefacts, like fine china, shoes and ship fittings. 

Film director James Cameron also has led teams to the wreck to record the bow and the stern.

Chris Davino, president and CEO of Premier Exhibitions, RMS Titanic’s parent company, estimated the cost of the 2010 expedition at between $4 million and $5 million. 

He said company officials have not decided whether they will launch another salvage expedition.

The Titanic struck ice while making its maiden voyage on April 12, 1912, about 400 miles (645 kilometers) off Newfoundland, Canada. 

More than 1,500 of the 2,228 passengers and crew perished as the liner plunged into the deep.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010256/Titanic-captain-Edward-Smiths-bathtub-Pictures-surface-1st-time.html#ixzz1Qx4YSDpa

Battle of the bulge won with red wine...

Why a glass of red wine could win the battle of the bulge

By FIONA MACRAE

Last updated at 1:23 AM on 2nd July 2011

Health benefits: A glass of red wine a day could keep the bulge away

It is the perfect excuse to crack open a bottle of Chianti and put your feet up.

Resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine, credited with warding off a host of ills from old age to cancer, may provide exercise benefits without moving a muscle as it seems to keep bones strong and diabetes at bay.

With previous research endowing resveratrol, which can also be bought in supplement form, with tricking the body into burning off fat, it could be the couch potato’s dream.

Gerald Weissmann, editor of the journal that published the latest research, said: ‘There is overwhelming data showing the human body needs physical activity, but for some of us, getting that activity isn’t easy.

‘Resveratrol may not be a substitute for exercise, but it could slow deterioration until someone could get moving again.’

To study whether resveratrol has similar effects on the body to exercise, French researchers devised an experiment in which rats experienced the weightlessness more usually associated with astronauts in space.

The physical changes seen due to lack of gravity include slower circulation and floppy muscles, meaning there are parallels with bed-ridden patients and those who do little or no exercise.

The ‘astronaut’ rats given a daily dose of resveratrol stayed in good health, the FASEB journal reports.

Thing of the past: Resveratroi, the 'miracle' ingredient in red win, may provide exercise benefits without moving a muscle

But in those kept in weightless conditions and not given resveratrol, bones became brittle and muscles wasted and weakened.

For those who need more encouragement to sit down with a glass of red, previous research has linked the drink to slimmer waistlines.

The long-term study of almost 20,000 women found those who enjoyed a glass or two of alcohol a day, particularly red wine, put on less weight than those who stuck to water or soft drinks.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2010486/Why-glass-red-wine-win-battle-bulge.html#ixzz1Qx3hFeyX