# Cheap hot dogs and sold out all over my city, panic buying hot dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940 "2020-03-05T00:55:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/21 "2020-03-06T02:32:02Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Where are hot dogs selling for 88 cents a package? Cheap hot dogs here in New Hampshire are still $3 a package. I haven’t seen hot dogs under a buck a package since around 1980. Perhaps you don’t have Bar-S where you’re at. They go for about a buck here in Chicago. Type in “Bar S Hot Dogs” in Google and see what prices come up for you. I’m getting 75-88 cents at Instacart and 99 cents at Target. Right now, my local grocery even has Eckridge Jumbo Franks on sale for $1.59 for a 14 oz package. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/22 "2020-03-06T02:48:27Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Ok, is there any reason to actually store water? Most middling sized city and up water department’s treatment plants are considered ‘protected critical infrastructure’ by the Dept. of Homeland Security, and they treat the water well enough to remove any concern of viruses coming in that way (nobody freaks out about it during flu season, for example). Water infrastructure is often knocked out during natural disasters - it’s common after a hurricane for the supply to be contaminated enough that you are advised to not use it for drinking or cooking (and in some cases body washing), or to boil it before using. I’ve never heard of anyone being quarantined for two weeks for the flu, or planning for such, so I don’t think ‘flu season’ is a reasonable comparison. Standard disaster prep includes a having water, and I think people are following their usual playbook and zooming in on the two week time frame. I don’t know what scenario would actually require two weeks of water, but I can see why people would get it as part of general ‘disaster prep’. I have between a week and two weeks worth of water for one person at my house since it basically doesn’t go bad - a couple of cases of bottled water (that I cycle through for parties and events), two or three gallon jugs in a closet, and a bunch of gallon bags and 2-liters frozen in the bottom of the freezer (which do double duty of keeping food cold in the event of power loss). I set this up for a hurricane, but there’s no reason to ‘unprep’ it outside of hurricane season since it’s not like ice is going to go bad. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/23 "2020-03-06T03:43:02Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Where are hot dogs selling for 88 cents a package? Cheap hot dogs here in New Hampshire are still $3 a package. I haven’t seen hot dogs under a buck a package since around 1980. You have to understand that Bar S “sausages” would embarrass CMOT Dibbler. Not a named meat in them. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/24 "2020-03-06T03:54:35Z")
I confess to a curiosity about these dollar hot dogs. I know they’ll be bad but I’m just not quite sure how bad. Are they edible if I dress them like a Chicago dog? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/25 "2020-03-06T04:41:09Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > My local grocery store is fully stocked with various dried beans, but no red lentils. The Lebanese specialty shop is also sold out of red lentils. > > The Ukulele Lady requested red lentil soup this morning and we are running short of red lentils, which is how I learned this. > > It seems that Brooklynites are stocking up against a possible shortage of dal. Lentils are fast to cook compared to many other dried beans - they don’t need an overnight presoak and 5 hours of simmering, I can whip out a lentil soup in about half an hour. Plus they taste good. If you chuck in rice or barley it makes a pretty complete protein. > [@TRC4941](#): > > I understand the reason for stocking up on TP, sanitizers, canned goods, medicines, etc. in case the virus has us all on lockdown. But why water? Is there a reason our water will be shut off? I don’t go for freezer/fridge foods unless it is dead winter and I can keep stuff on the bottom floor of the barn on shelves [we joke about the auxiliary freezer. It is unheated and at ambient temp] I do get iron rations - dried, canned or bottled stuff - pickles, beans, grains, canned fruits and veggies, bottled stuff like shelf stable juices for a glucose hit if my glucose goes down too fast [the little drink boxes are good - i detest sodas] > [@silenus](#): > > Panic buying is rarely logical. They are probably following the lead of all the hurricane people, who actually _should_ be stocking up on water. we have a couple surplus 85 gallon overpack drums that never have been used for anything except water - we can render it potable at need. We also have a couple 5 gallon cubes that only hold potable water. If I feel the need to bathe, we can either go to the sub base and use the gym shower or swimming pool, or we can use one of the various building showers - I think there must be at least 20 buildings with bathrooms with showers in them. Otherwise, we can simply hit the nearest pond or lake and haul a load of water and heat it to shower [portable indian pump type camping shower.] > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Yeah, water makes sense for most natural disasters. In earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, etc. the water lines can break, either resulting in no water pressure or in dirty water that’s not safe to drink. > > This seems… unlikely to happen in the event of a viral pandemic, although I suppose if you consider worst case scenarios, something else could happen during the pandemic that would cause problems, and then you’d want even longer supplies since it would take longer to fix while society is grappling with multiple issues. > > Question for those who have water stored: How do you store it? We have ~10 gallons stored in small containers, but 2 _weeks_ of water supply would be hundreds of gallons. Do you have a big custom water tank somewhere with that? How often do you change it out? If you have a bath tub in a ‘spare’ bathroom you dont mind filling, they make a [soft plastic tank](https://waterbob.com/) that fits in and you fill. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/26 "2020-03-06T08:44:38Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I confess to a curiosity about these dollar hot dogs. I know they’ll be bad but I’m just not quite sure how bad. Are they edible if I dress them like a Chicago dog? Mix them with cheap canned chili and you will have a perfectly serviceable chili dog though not something you’d go out of your way to eat. I suspect they are mainly bought by people who need to make as many hot dogs as possible and hope the toppings cover the rather bland taste, such as catering for local events and movie theaters. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/27 "2020-03-06T09:26:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Where are hot dogs selling for 88 cents a package? Cheap hot dogs here in New Hampshire are still $3 a package. I haven’t seen hot dogs under a buck a package since around 1980. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Perhaps you don’t have Bar-S where you’re at. They go for about a buck here in Chicago. Type in “Bar S Hot Dogs” in Google and see what prices come up for you. I’m getting 75-88 cents at Instacart and 99 cents at Target. Right now, my local grocery even has Eckridge Jumbo Franks on sale for $1.59 for a 14 oz package. We usually have them for 68 cents a package in the grocery store I work at. We’ve had them as low as 48 cents a package during summertime, and we can easily sell through 8-10 cases per day. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/28 "2020-03-06T09:53:58Z")
yeah bar s is basically the dollar store hot dog/processed meat purveyor … their bacon is edible also but nothing you’d go outta ya way for if ya weren’t on a budget now in la county, the local fav is farmer john, of course, the la dodgers connection help that along ironically there was a closeout store that used to sell eckridge stuff … I was the only one who knew them since I lived in Indiana occasionally as a kid … ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/29 "2020-03-06T14:18:35Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Water infrastructure is often knocked out during natural disasters - it’s common after a hurricane for the supply to be contaminated enough that you are advised to not use it for drinking or cooking (and in some cases body washing), or to boil it before using. I’ve never heard of anyone being quarantined for two weeks for the flu, or planning for such, so I don’t think ‘flu season’ is a reasonable comparison. Standard disaster prep includes a having water, and I think people are following their usual playbook and zooming in on the two week time frame. I don’t know what scenario would actually require two weeks of water, but I can see why people would get it as part of general ‘disaster prep’. > > I have between a week and two weeks worth of water for one person at my house since it basically doesn’t go bad - a couple of cases of bottled water (that I cycle through for parties and events), two or three gallon jugs in a closet, and a bunch of gallon bags and 2-liters frozen in the bottom of the freezer (which do double duty of keeping food cold in the event of power loss). I set this up for a hurricane, but there’s no reason to ‘unprep’ it outside of hurricane season since it’s not like ice is going to go bad. Sure, but most natural disasters involve some component of physical destruction that takes out generators, valves, control equipment, power supply, floods the plant, etc… Disease outbreaks don’t have that; at the very worst the concern would be that the guys who run the purification plant are sick and unable to come in, which would probably be unlikely that everyone qualified to run it would be out for 2 weeks with no backup. My personal thinking is that I’d be best off probably ensuring that I have enough cold/cough OTC medications to get me past it, under the assumption that with little kids, I’ll probably end up with it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940/30 "2020-03-06T17:49:04Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > If you have a bath tub in a ‘spare’ bathroom you dont mind filling, they make a [soft plastic tank](https://waterbob.com/) that fits in and you fill. Ah that is clever. We don’t have a spare bathtub, but what just occurred to me is that I could get an old water heater and use it as a tank. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-hot-dogs-and-sold-out-all-over-my-city-panic-buying-hot-dogs/848940.md?page=1)