Iowa man wins Fourth of July Key Lime Pie Eating Championship in Florida Keys

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — New York had its hot dog eating contest to celebrate Independence Day. But the Florida Keys had a sweeter alternative. The Key Lime Pie Eating Championship in Key West, where Key lime pie originated, was won Tuesday by Joshua Mogle, a 38-year-old Altoona, Iowa, tire manufacturing manager. Mogle plunged face-first into a 9-inch pie smothered with whipped cream during the challenge, whose rules forbid contestants to use their hands. The gooey competition has become a subtropical substitute to Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. Mogle consumed the confection in three minutes and 35 seconds, besting 24 rivals in the culmination of Key West’s five-day Key Lime Festival.