# "The average American eats 60 hot dogs a year..." **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210 "2006-07-04T22:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/21 "2006-07-05T01:48:31Z")
I haven’t eaten a hotdog since an 10th grade health class explained what was in them. That was oh, 1992 or 3 depending on which semester that class was in. Who’s picking up my slack? Can I send them a condolence card? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/22 "2006-07-05T02:08:40Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Uhhhh . . . tube steak? You know that means penis, right? Not necessarily. I’ve heard it in completely nonsexual contexts to describe hot dogs; a few times, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/23 "2006-07-05T02:47:16Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Not necessarily. I’ve heard it in completely nonsexual contexts to describe hot dogs; a few times, actually. [/QUOTE] Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/24 "2006-07-05T03:23:38Z")
I pretty much only eat the occasional veggie dog, even if they count as hot dogs, it’s definitely not 60 a year, so someone must be picking up my slack, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/25 "2006-07-05T03:32:56Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Not necessarily. I’ve heard it in completely nonsexual contexts to describe hot dogs; a few times, actually. [/QUOTE] Here as well. In fact, I’d wager that it was a nickname for hot dog before it was one for penis. It’s a nicely sarcastic way to describe the “delicacy” of the hot dog, and considering that most phallic-shaped foods tend to lend their names to ways to describe the penis, it makes sense that would be the progression. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/26 "2006-07-05T20:25:17Z")
I’m way behind, had my first one of the year last week. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/27 "2006-07-05T20:34:59Z")
I think that Kobayashi (sp?) fella is skewing _everyone’s_ average. 53 3/4 hotdogs in 12 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/28 "2006-07-05T20:56:20Z")
Sixty? Per **year**? I find that statistic wholly unbelievable. I mean, what, is America on some sort of bizarro non-tubular diet or something? I think I had 60 by mid-February. Yesterday I had one fire-grilled and topped with homemade mango salsa. Mmmm… ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/29 "2006-07-05T21:37:13Z")
[QUOTE=trublmakr] I really can’t stand hot dogs. Once in a great while I’ll get a wild hair and want to get a Luke’s Mexican dog, or an Oscar Myer with loads of yummy toppings, which I love, and try to pretend that I can’t taste the weiner. But my stomach is never fooled- it knows a hot dog when it digests one, and it will often hit the eject button. I do loves me some bratwurst, though. [/QUOTE] I luv Hebrew Nationals… my brother hates them because his kids find them too meaty :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/30 "2006-07-05T22:07:18Z")
I don’t know if I’ve eaten a hot dog in the past 10 years. now if you include bratwurst, that is a different story. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/31 "2006-07-05T22:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] I think that Kobayashi (sp?) fella is skewing _everyone’s_ average. 53 3/4 hotdogs in 12 minutes. [/QUOTE] Yes, but at what price? From an article on the 2004 Coney Island hot dog-eating contest (where Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi won for the second time - he’s won the last 4 yeaqrs in a row) > [@](#): > > But in the final seconds, with many of the 20 competitors already satisfied with their effort, Kobayashi’s body heaved as his cheeks ballooned with remnants. Since visible regurgitation during competition means a disqualification, many in the crowd cried foul … > Footage captured by ESPN confirms that some hot dog slush did spill through Kobayashi’s fingers and pieces of liquid bun spouted out of his nose, but footage shows time had already expired. Some americans seem incredulous that these diminutive japanese men can beat a big strapping hometown boy in hot dog consumption. From the same 2004 article: > [@](#): > > In 1997, when the first of three Japanese champions came on the scene at Coney Island, [Rich] Shea [(president of the International Federation of Competitive Eating)] said competitors complained he had two stomachs. “No one has two stomachs,” Shea said. “We’re all born with the same stomach.” Thank you Rich for clarifying that, for a moment there I was worried that those Japanese guys really did have a secret trick! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/32 "2006-07-05T22:30:44Z")
Accusations hurled at hot dog contest By Darren Rovell > **[ESPN.com - Page2 - Accusations hurled at hot dog contest](https://www.espn.com/page2/s/rovell/020704.html)** > > Takeru Kobayashi once again dominated the world hot dog eating contest, but his victory was shrouded in controversy. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/33 "2006-07-05T23:19:40Z")
Do veggie dogs count? Because I probably eat about 5-10 veggie corndogs in a year. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/34 "2006-07-05T23:29:10Z")
we sell hebrew national 1/4 pound dogs in my coffee shop. I usually have at least one a day…quality control you understand… ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/35 "2006-07-05T23:37:28Z")
[QUOTE=trublmakr] I really can’t stand hot dogs. Once in a great while I’ll get a wild hair and want to get a Luke’s Mexican dog, or an Oscar Myer with loads of yummy toppings, which I love, and try to pretend that I can’t taste the weiner. But my stomach is never fooled- it knows a hot dog when it digests one, and it will often hit the eject button. I do loves me some bratwurst, though. [/QUOTE] OoOoOoOhhhh…what wild sorts of trouble you spawn! ---
**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:** [July 6, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/36 "2006-07-06T00:23:23Z")
I probably eat close to twice that. Two hotdogs to a meal, once every week or two when I don’t feel like actually cooking anything. And then a dozen more at picnics or barbecues. I rather like hotdogs. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/37 "2006-07-06T00:33:44Z")
I’m way below average, too. It’s hard to find hot dog buns that are kosher certified and pareve (free of any dairy ingredients) around here. And, of course, hot dogs that are cooked outside your home are usually not kosher, so I don’t eat them. Even if I knew they were Hebrew National or another kosher brand, I still wouldn’t eat them unless the place was certified kosher, because I couldn’t be sure the buns were dairy-free. (And anyone who says I should eat them without a bun should take their heresy right back to the rock they crawled out from under, right now) I had Tofurkey beer brats last night, though- yummy! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/38 "2006-07-06T03:09:07Z")
Allow me to enlighten y’all as to where the rest of your hot dogs are going–into my SO is where! He manages to eat a hot dog dinner almost once a week and when he does he puts down 4-8 of the damned things in a sitting, especially if he can coerce me into making my chipotle turkey chili to go on top. He says he could eat nothing but chili cheese dogs with onions for the rest of his life and be perfectly content. Five thousand pounds, to be sure, but perfectly content withal… Me, I’ll manage two or so about every third time he goes on a binge, but usually I make a salad in protest instead… ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/39 "2006-07-06T03:48:23Z")
I live in a land ruled by [Kunzler’s](http://www.kunzler.com/store/default.asp?fa=list&CategoryID=4) . I can’t stand their product. I much prefer the Sabretts stand downtown and buy Omaha Steaks’ Gourmet Franks for home. Now them’s some good eatin’! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210/40 "2006-07-06T12:36:58Z")
[QUOTE=supervenusfreak] I live in a land ruled by [Kunzler’s](http://www.kunzler.com/store/default.asp?fa=list&CategoryID=4) . I can’t stand their product. I much prefer the Sabretts stand downtown and buy Omaha Steaks’ Gourmet Franks for home. Now them’s some good eatin’! [/QUOTE] PCN had one of their “tours” about the (IIRC) Kunzler plant (or maybe it was the Kessler’s plant). I never liked their hot dogs, but I never want to eat one now that I’ve seen how they’re made. (I don’t like Kessler’s either, so either way, it’s true.) I’m a kosher hot dog girl, myself, although Nathan’s are an acceptable substitute. And I’m sure my son makes up for some of y’all’s numbers – hot dogs and tater tots are one of his favorite lunches. Robin [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-average-american-eats-60-hot-dogs-a-year/363210.md?page=3)