A Dog by Another Name
To paraphrase William Shakespeare, a hot dog by any other name would taste as good….right? Below is some tips to find out.
Celebrate National Hot Dog Month this July!
With this handy translation, you can order a hot dog from anywhere in the world… or impress your friends at the next social function with your newly acquired knowledge.
- Spanish – Perrito Caliente
- Italian – Caldo Cane
- French – Chien Chaud
- German – Heisser Hund or Wurst
- Portugese – Cachorro Quente
- Swedish – Korv or Varmkorv
- Norweigan and Danish – Grillpolser
- Czech – Park v Rohliku
- Dutch – Worstjes
- Finnish – Makkarat
The Man Dubbed Creator of “Hot Dog” Phrase
Cartoonist Tad Dorgan is credited for the name “hot dogs.”
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website, “As the legend goes, frankfurters were dubbed the “hot dog” by a cartoonist how observed a vendor selling the “hot dachshund sausages: during a baseball game at New York City’s Polo Grounds. Concessionaires walked through the stands shouting “Get your red-hot dachshund sausages.”
In 1906, Tad Dorgan, a cartoonist for a Hearst newspaper, was inspired by the scene and sketched a cartoon with a real dachshund dog, smeared with mustard, in a bun. Supposedly, Dorgan could not spell the name of the dog, instead writing “get your hot dogs” for a caption.
Is this what Tad Dorgan imagined?
However, Dorgan’s cartoon has never been located and some hot dog historians suggest the “dachshund” sausages were being called hot dogs on college campuses in the 1890s. “Little dog” sausages became standard far at ballparks in 1893 when St. Louis bar owner and German immigrant Chris Von de Ahe, who owned the St. Louis Browns baseball team.”
The Man behind Hot Dog University
Mark Reitman, Ph.D. “Professor of Hot Dogs” – Photo by Time.com
Mark Reitman, Ph.D. aka “Professor of Hot Dogs” teaches “the art of the cart,” which is a two-day course about the business of operating a hot dog stand. Reitman has a lot of experience, serving hot dogs since he was eight-years old. In 2006, he started Hot Dog University. In 2009, he partnered with Vienna Beef. Reitman claims over 800 students have taken the class with 300 opening restaurants nationwide and 500 with hot dog carts
Find more about “Professor” Reitman and his tips on how to cook a hot dog properly at Time.com.
A Meal Fit for a King
United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on June 11, 1939 to their home in Hudson Valley at Hyde Park. It was the first time a reigning British monarch had ever set foot in its former colony. To celebrate, FDR served the royals a meal of hot dogs and beer along with the cooks, gardeners and other staff members of the Roosevelt estate. Apparently, FDR’s mother was not amused with her son’s dinner choice. According to reports, the queen was unsure on how to eat a hot dog. The New York Times covered the event and has been re-created in the 2012 film “Hyde Park on the Hudson” starring Bill Murray as President Roosevelt and Laura Linney as FDR’s distant cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, who attended the event.
United States President FDR and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt entertain the British Royals in 1939 with hot dogs and beer.
Northern News 