Competitive eating is unique among extreme sports in that its waste is so conspicuous and visceral. What it wastes is so essential - no children are dying from a lack of a skateboard.

It's also accusatory. It's hard to look at an eating contest and not have at least an inkling of the thought, Look what we've become as a society.

These aspects are less apparent in competitive eating's close cousin, the eating challenge - having a specific meal within a specific amount of time. While still wasteful, it at least has a veneer of a limit. And a hint of normalcy. Instead of just one single food underscoring the pointlessness, eating challenges has a more recognizable form of a familiar meal, but made bigger and bigger. Almost like a novelty item.