The Reason Why Hot Dogs Are Called Hot Dogs is Related to the Dog Breed Dachshunds

Last Updated on 2022-11-19 , 10:33 pm

Have you ever wondered why certain things are not what they are called? Like how the McDonald’s cheesy fries are not cheesy?

Likewise for Hot Dogs.

You and I all know that Hot Dogs are not meant to be burning hot nor are they meant to be flaming hot.

So what exactly makes them hot?

They are actually named after the Dachshunds.

Quite self-explanatory eh?

The dachshunds have always been regarded as a symbol of Germany. Political cartoonists used to make fun of Germany through the image of the dog.

The well-known association of the dachshunds with Germany made it the first official mascot for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

According to Wikipedia, the dogs have also nicknamed ‘Sausage Dogs’ in the UK, US, Australia and South Africa.

They are literally called ‘Hotdogs’ in the US as well.

And if you were wondering, they’re called ‘腊肠犬‘ in Chinese. It is literally named after the Chinese Sausages we see hanging around in stores.

So how exactly did the food get its name?

We are not exactly sure how its name come about, but here are some speculations:

Back in 1901, vendors were selling hot dogs from a portable hot water tank to boil the hotdogs. They were heard shouting “They’re red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they’re hot!”

A cartoonist was nearby and was trying to draw the sausages in their buns. He did not know how to spell ‘dachshund’ and hence decided to just write ‘hot dog’ to convey the feeling.

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Unfortunately, if the story is true, the cartoon could not be found to date.

The second possible story dates back to the 1800s when the Germans immigrated to America. They brought along with them the dachshund sausages and dogs.

The name ‘hotdog’ is speculated to be a joke about the physical appearance of the dogs.

The Germans even called the dogs ‘dachshund sausage’ which hence links the two together.

Where did the hotdog bun come from?

Basically, the bun was speculated to be introduced by a Bavarian concessionaire in 1904.He used to lend white gloves to his customers to eat the cooked sausages. However, most of the gloves he loaned were never returned.

He asked his brother-in-law, a baker, for advice. And there you have it, the baker came up with the hotdog buns that we see today.