Welcome to Wiser Now’s weekly email blast which reflects my eclectic interests and, I hope, yours. July 13 is Beans and Franks Day and if they are not on your menu today, never fear, because it is both Hot Dog Month and Baked Beans Month for all 31 days of July. Get out the grill and crock pot at your convenience.
I hope you find these offerings fun, and perhaps even useful, and welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com) And if you haven’t yet pressed the subscribe button so this newsletter doesn’t go to spam, please do so now.
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The Quirky Quote
"Noblest of all dogs is the hot-dog; it feeds the hand that bites it." ~ Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter or this one:
"A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz." ~ Humphrey Bogart
Other famous hotdog lovers include Maya Angelou, Stephen Colbert, Clint Eastwood, Dwight Eisenhower, Chris Rock, Mitt Romney, Franklin Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Martha Stewart, and Betty White.
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The Quirky Facts
There is almost universal agreement that baked beans originated with the Narragansett, Penobscot and Iroquois Indians and was a dish shared with the early Pilgrims. According to an also widely agreed upon myth, the sweet bean dish began when an Indian chief threw his tomahawk into a tree one evening before bed. When he pulled it out the next morning, sap began to flow. The chief tasted it, saw the possibilities, and had his meat – and eventually his beans – cooked in it. The Pilgrims substituted molasses and pork fat for the Indians’ maple syrup and bear fat, and dozens of other variations have arisen since then about the musical fruit that makes you toot. (Blame raffinose, a type of carbohydrate that’s poorly digested by the body. As bacteria in the large intestine break it down, the result is gas and bloating, that’s literally rough on the nose.)
The origin of hotdogs, on the other hand, is hotly disputed. Sausage was mentioned as early as the 9th century BCE in Homer’s Odyssey, but a sausage specifically known as a hotdog, has multiple claimants. The most dubious is Vienna, Austria. The German name for the city is Wien (pronounced “Veen”), so people who live there are called “Wieners.” But not a hotdog in sight.
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Hotdogs are also called Frankfurters and 35 years ago, in 1987, the German citizens of Frankfurt-Am-Main celebrated frankfurters’ 500th anniversary – meaning the sausage, not the citizenry. But were those sausages of 500 years ago hotdogs? In the late 1600’s (a mere 400+ years ago) a butcher named Johann Georghehner from Coberg, Germany created a sausage called “dachshund” or “little dog,” which some say, he later promoted in Frankfurt-Am-Mein. What IS known for sure is that both dachshunds (the animal) and little dogs (the sausage) were brought to the U.S. by German immigrants, and they have been served on street corners and in ballparks by the billions ever since. What is still disputed is what embellishments to put on a hot dog. (See the quiz below for more.)
Although heavily consumed in the U.S., both beans and hot dogs are popular throughout the world. You can even get a holy hotdog near the Vatican where it’s “caldo cane” in Italian.
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And one more musical note: In the mid-1950s, Perry Como had a hot hit with a song by A. Hoffman and D. Manning with the last lines of:
Oh, hot diggity, dog ziggity, boom what you do to me
How my future will shine
Hot diggity, dog ziggity, boom what you do to me
From the moment you're mine
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The Quirky Observations
I personally prefer bratwurst and other sausages over hotdogs, and I like only ketchup on any of them – an unsophisticated palate preference, which according to former President Obama, I should have given up by the age of 8. (I am not, however, as juvenile as the 25% of children who say that if their moms weren’t looking, they would put chocolate sauce on their hotdogs.)
Other than that, I am somewhat on-target with my hotdog etiquette which calls for informality.
- I “dress the dog, not the bun,” which means I pour my ketchup on the hotdog.
- I am fine with paper napkins and paper plates or a paper bun holder.
- I don’t use utensils.
But I confess that I practice poor hotdog etiquette by leaving some of my bun on my plate, taking more than 5 bites to eat one, wiping my fingers on my napkin rather than licking them, and more than once having champagne rather than beer or soda to accompany my sausage. Who knew there were so many rules? How about you?
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The Featured Product
This week a bonus freebie from my Wiser Now store: The Choose 1 Exercise works equally well as a training tool, party game, or conversation starter. It’s a simple premise. Everyone chooses between opposites, such as “Are you an early bird or a night owl?” But the real revelations come in the follow-up discussion to each question, especially the metaphorical ones like “Are you more like a rose or a daisy, and why?” The downloadable booklet gives detailed directions on how to effectively lead the discussions and what you might expect. (One woman claimed to be a rose because she took a lot of “manure” in her life.) As a tool for building relationships by learning how to draw out the best in others, I know nothing more effective. For a limited time, you can download it here.
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Please Spread the Word
WNW is an award-winning publication used by activity professionals, teachers, aging adults and their grandkids, and lots of people in between. Please share it, and if you represent an organization that would like a customized version or would consider becoming a sponsor, send me a note at Kathy@WiserNow.com.
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Directions for Sharing
Each week, the links to the current and seven previous Wiser Now Wednesdays are provided in the archive (“WN Wed Archive” on the far right of the menu bar). Click on the issue you want to share, and when it appears, at the top of the screen you will see “Share” with an f for Facebook and a bird for Twitter. Click on them to share to your contacts or just copy the URL at the top of your screen and send it to them in an email. Thank you!
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The Questions
- Are you a hotdog lover? If so, do you prefer steamed or grilled? What are your preferred condiments?
- Do you tend to only like hotdogs in certain settings such as at a baseball game, from a street vendor, or on a picnic? Which ones and why?
- Do you like baked beans? Do you have a favorite recipe?
- Do you have any special memories related to hotdogs and baked beans?
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The Quiz - What to serve on a hotdog
There are a surprising number of regional differences in terms of topping preferences for hot dogs in the U.S. Can you match the region to its toppings of choice? And wherever you live in the world, do any of them appeal to you?
1. Atlanta ___
2. Chicago ___
3. Kansas City ___
4. New York City ___
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a. served with steamed onions and a pale, deli-style yellow mustard
b. served with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese
c. layered with yellow mustard, dark green relish, chopped raw onion, tomato slices, topped with a dash of celery salt and served in a poppy seed bun
d. topped with coleslaw and optionally, Vidalia onions
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5. Alaska ___
6. Philadelphia ___
7. Sonora (southwest U.S.) ___
8. Seattle ___
a. hot dog and a fish cake inside the bun, topped with a sweet vinegary slaw and spicy mustard
b. likely toppings are cream cheese, grilled onions, Sriracha sauce and jalapeños
c. Hot dog is typically caribou meat, and served with grilled onions that are sometimes sautéed in Coca-Cola
d. pinto beans, grilled onions and green peppers, chopped fresh tomatoes, relish, tomatillo jalapeno salsa, mayonnaise, mustard and shredded cheese, and hotdog may be wrapped in bacon
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The Resources
Photo credits unless otherwise noted are taken from the above resources or purchased from iStock.
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Answers to the quiz
1.d 2.c 3.b 4.a 5.c 6.a 7.d 8.b
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My multiple goals are to amuse and inspire you, to share what I and people whom I admire are doing, to stimulate your curiosity and spur you to action. I hope you enjoyed this offering. You can access previous issues here. I welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com)
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