How did Hot Dogs get their name? | Who Smarted? - Educational Podcast for Kids

And now it's time for Who Smarted.

Psss. Hey, Smarty Pants, it's me, the trusty narrator.

Today I'm in Central Park playing Frisbee with my pal, and Who Smarted News reporter, Chad Nicherson.

We just finished playing, but it seems he forgot to give me back my Frisbee.

Head's up, trusty, incoming!

Ow! This is Chad Nicherson reporting.

There's been a Frisbee accident in the park involving Who Smarted's trusty narrator.

Relax, Chad, I'm fine. Ah, gotcha!

See you next week, same time!

Bye, Chad. Well, at least I got my Frisbee back.

But now, I'm hungry, and the nearest pizza place is...

Three miles away. Ooh, I wonder if there's anything here in the park I can eat.

Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!

Ooh, a hot dog might hit the spot.

I'll just head on over to this snazzy looking hot dog stand in.

Hey, there's nobody here.

But I just heard someone saying, Hot dogs, get your hot dogs here!

Yep, just like that. Did you hear that, too, Smarty Pants?

But there's nobody around.

Hey, down here. Oops, sorry, I didn't see you down there.

Uh-huh, I get that a lot, I'm pretty short.

You are, but also, you're talking docks and...

Smarty Pants, do you know what a docksand is?

Is it a, a type of hot dog?

B, a type of dog, or C, a condiment for sandwiches?

If you said B, a type of dog, you're right.

A docksand is a small dog with a long body and cute little legs.

But what is a docksand doing, owning a hot dog stand?

Hey, if it wasn't for dashings, hot dogs wouldn't even be called hot dogs.

Really? Wow, I've been eating hot dogs for a long time, but I guess I don't really know that much about them.

For example, how did hot dogs get their name?

How long have hot dogs been around?

What are they made of? And how did they become so popular?

Especially at baseball games?

Park! Park! Get ready for another whiff of science and history, on...

Who's smart, Ed? Who's smart, Ed?

Who smart, Ed? Who smart, Ed?

Wow, can you believe that, smarty pants?

Hot dogs have technically been around since ancient times.

Wow. But it's not just the name of the food that's changed since Homer wrote about them.

A lot of things have happened to get from ancient sausages to the hot dogs you know and love today.

Well, I can think of one thing those eighth century BCE sausages were missing that today's hot dogs usually have.

Smarty pants, any guesses?

I hear some smarty pants saying mustard or ketchup?

Great guesses, but I'm thinking of something that makes a hot dog easier to hold.

Did you say a bun? Nice. That's right.

The first hot dogs were sold without buns, which means a lot of people burned their hands eating hot dogs right off the grill.

Yow! Too hot! Too hot! There's gotta be a better way to hold this thing.

Not only does the bun protect your hand, but it also makes it super convenient to eat.

No knife or fork necessary.

Aha! And this makes hot dogs a great food to eat outside, like at ball games.

Or at a picnic in the park.

And they're perfect for grilling or even cooking in a campfire on a camping trip.

Plus, you can customize your hot dog to your exact liking.

Think of how many things you can put on a hot dog.

Okay. Um, ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, pickles, relish, sour-crout jalapenos, chili, bacon, avocado, beans, coleslaw, gravy, fries, chips, and of course, cheese.

There you go, one with the works.

Oh, I didn't realize I was ordering.

But, huh, down the hatch.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no I'm not a human being.

I'm not a human being. I'm not a human being.

I'm not a human being. I'm named after the first condominant ever put on a hotdog.

And when was that? At the 1904 World's Fair in St.

Louis. While many people mistakenly think this was the first time hotdogs were put in buns, it was actually the first time yellow mustard was ever squirted on a hotdog.

Mustard is delicious and may in fact have been the first condominant ever used by humans.

There's evidence of mustard being used as a seasoning dating back around 4,000 years.

That's longer than people have been eating hotdogs.

Whoa. But no matter what you put on your hotdog, there's a special time of the year when most hotdogs are eaten.

Smarty pants. When do you think the most hotdogs are eaten?

Is it a January, B April or C July?

If you said July, you're right.

July is considered national hotdog month in the USA.

Not only is there the hotdog eating championship every July 4th, but there's even a national hotdog day celebrated on July 23rd.

It's definitely my favorite day of the year.

Of course, I sell a ton of hotdogs all my fun.

Smarty pants. How many hotdogs do you think Americans eat every July?

Go ahead, shout out your answer.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Would you believe the answer is 2 billion?

Two billion hotdogs. If you lined up two billion hotdogs, they would stretch over 190,000 miles.

That's enough to circle the earth seven times.

Whoa. If I could sell that many, I could retire.

Houston, we have a problem.

There seems to be seven hotdog rings around the earth.

Smarty pants. Here's another question.

Where do you think people eat the most hotdogs?

Is it a New York City? B, Los Angeles or C or Lando?

If you said New York City, good guess.

Hotdog carts like Mustards here are very popular in New York.

But that's not the right answer.

The city that eats the most hotdogs is actually B, Los Angeles.

Followed by New York City, Chicago, San Antonio and Philadelphia.

I still say New York has the best hotdogs.

It's something about the water.

Ah, that reminds me. We've talked a lot about putting hotdogs inside you.

Buh. But we haven't talked about what's inside a hotdog.

What exactly are hotdogs made of?

The answer is... Coming up right after this quick break.

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Thanks. Now back to who's smarted.

So, Smarty Pants. Chances are, most of you have eaten or at least tasted a hot dog.

You might even be eating one right now.

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

But what exactly did you eat?

Well, not to sound too gross, but hot dogs are made as something called a Mulsified Meat Trimmings.

Oh, meat trimmings sound delicious.

Uh, okay. And what exactly isn't a Mulsified Meat Trimmings?

He asked nervously. It's kind of like blended or ground up meat mix with water to form almost like a batter.

Hot dogs, like other a Mulsified Meat, such as Bologna, Sausage, and Meat Cake.

I was gonna say meatloaf, but sure, Meat Cake probably counts.

Anyway, the meat's used to be trimmings of beef or pork, and this meaty batter is then stuffed inside casings made from...

You sure you want to know?

It can't get any worse, can it?

Animal intestines. Why, yes.

Yes, it can get worse. About 30% or 1 third of a hot dog is made up of fats.

50% or half is made of water.

Then you got your spices like paprika, red pepper, sugar, or corn syrup, salt, black pepper, and sodium nitrate.

And the rest is... Philla.

Did you say... Philla? Yeah.

What's Philla? He asked, terrified?

Oh, Philla for hot dogs, and they can include things like non-fat dried milk and powdered bone meal.

Ha, you know? Maybe three miles isn't that far to walk for pizza.

Ah, come on, trusty. You know you love hot dogs.

It's true, I do. And like lots of things that are made with gross stuff, they're still delicious.

Of course, not all hot dogs are made of beef and pork.

There's turkey francs, chicken dogs, veggie or plant-based hot dogs, and even tofu hot dogs.

And of course, at the fair...

Hot dogs are coated in cornmeal and deep fried to make corn dogs.

Yum, city! Yeah, I don't sell those.

Oh, speaking of selling hot dogs, is it true the first place you could buy hot dogs was in New York City?

It is true, but it might not be where you think.

I was going to say Nathan's, home of the Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

That's what I thought you might say.

But while Nathan's in Coney Island is one of the oldest hot dogs sellers and probably the most famous, it was actually Feltmens, also in Coney Island, that started selling hot dogs in 1913.

Three years before Nathan's.

Back then, hot dogs cost a nickel.

Which reminds me, you own me four bucks.

No, I owe you eight dollars.

No, you only had one hot dog with ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, pickles, relish, sourcrout, alapenos, chili, bacon, avocado, beans, coleslaw, gravy, fries, chips, and cheese.

I know, but I'd like another one.

And water, please. A triple smarty shout out to Blaine, Natalie, and Leah in Riverside, California, who say they've listened to every single episode.

A big thanks to all three of you for sharing how much fun you've had smarting with us.

We love making learning funny, especially for smarty pants like you three.

This episode, hot dogs, was written by Sarah, Sourcrow, Sweetick, and voiced by mustard, Mike Provedi, Adam Frankstavis, Max Coneydog Kamaski, and Jerry Colbert, technical direction and sound design by Josh Footlong Han, who smarted his recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.

Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.

The theme song is by Brian Buns, Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Textavis, who smarted was created and produced by Adam Textavis and Jerry Colbert.

This has been an atomic entertainment production.

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Join me and my robot co-host Lisa on The Big Fib, on Apple Podcasts or on GZMshows.com.

[The Fascinating History and Science of Hot Dogs]-[How did Hot Dogs get their name?]

📋 Summary

The Origins and Evolution of the Hot Dog

The Role of Condiments and Cultural Significance

Where are the Most Hot Dogs Consumed?

The Science of "Emulsified Meat Trimmings"

Modern Varieties and Customization

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript