Hot dogs are a popular meal all over the world but they are especially beloved in the United States. The thousands of hot dog vendors are enough proof.

Though there are very many people who eat hot dogs, some on a daily basis, there are things about hot dogs that are unknown. It is a very peculiar situation considering how much people know about other foods for example Pizza.

If you are going to be eating hot dogs regularly, then there are a few things you should probably know about them including:

Baseball and Hot Dogs Share a Special Connection

It is common knowledge that hot dogs are a delicacy you will not miss at American sports events. Baseball in particular is a game that is synonymous with hot dogs.

However, what you might not know is that the name ‘hot dog’ might very well be traced to a baseball game. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, the name arose from a cartoonist at a baseball game.

The cartoonist saw a vendor selling hot dachshund sausages. He then imagined the sausages being sold in a bun and smeared with mustard. Since he did not have could not spell the name of the sausages, he simply captioned them hot dogs. Though that story might be only a myth, the name has stuck to this day.

Americans Are Obsessed with Hot Dogs

There are many heated debates about the most popular food in America. Common names you will hear in the debate are hamburgers, pizza, and apple pie. A food that deserves a say in the debate is hot dogs because Americans are seemingly obsessed with them. There are hundreds of millions of hot dogs sold to Americans every year.

7-Eleven is the company that sells the hottest dogs in the United States. They sell about one hundred million hot dogs every year. If you include all the other hot dog vendors in the country, there might be over a billion hot dogs eaten every year. That is massive by any standard.

Origins

Despite being a very popular food, hotdogs have very mysterious origins. In fact, there has never been a claim substantiated as the true origin of hot dogs. There are many stories that try to explain the origins of popular food. However, the true hot dog origin story is still unknown. However, the claims presented so far are interesting, to say the least. One story claims that hot dogs were invented in Vienna by Hungarian immigrants who then traveled to America where the hot dog grew in popularity. There are other stories of the origin of the hot dog is in Frankfurt, Germany.

In the United States, Missouri is the place most associated with the origin of the hot dog. There are claims that suggest that St. Louis is the first place where hot dogs were sold on a bun. It is said that a vendor used the buns to prevent his customers from burning themselves on the sausage when they forgot to carry their gloves.

Toppings Reign Supreme

A hot dog is much more than a piece of sausage in between slices of a bun. In most cases, people are more into the toppings than the rest of the hot dog.

The fact is that when it comes to hotdogs, toppings are what matters the most to consumers. The condiments of choice for a top hot dog vary widely across the United States and the world in general.

According to most surveys, mustard is the most popular topping of all. However, the research also suggests that topping popularity varies according to location. Those in the Midwest prefer ketchup whereas those in the South love chili on their hotdogs.

Proper Hotdog Eating Etiquette

Table manners are not only for eating steak. There is proper hot dog eating etiquette which I can bet you didn’t know.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, there is a right way to eat hot dogs. There is also a wrong way which includes putting ketchup on your hot dog when you are over eighteen years old. According to the council, it is tacky to do so. Moreover, the council has other hot dog eating rules to observe. For example, you should not eat a hot dog using utensils.

Therefore, if you have been eating your hot dogs with a fork and knife, you have been doing it wrong. The right way to eat them is by hand and with no utensils at all.

For most people, that there are things they don’t know about hot dogs is almost inconceivable. However, there are a few things on the list above that most person who enjoy hot dogs do not know. You should learn as much about hot dogs if you are going to be eating them.