It’s National Hot Dog Day! America loves our franks. But, ‘how is the sausage made?’ Learn the history of the day and some fun facts, courtesy of RetailMeNot.
What day is National Hot Dog Day on?
July is actually National Hot Dog Month, and eateries everywhere celebrate the tubed delicacy. This year, many restaurants are promoting Hot Dog Day on July 22, 2020.
But why? The National Hot Dog Day and Sausage Council created National Hot Dog Day in 1991 to fall on the same day as the annual Capitol Hill Hot Dog Lunch, which typically takes place on the third Wednesday of July—but not this year. Sources say that the day confusion is likely due to the fact that the annual Hot Dog Lunch fell on July 23 a couple of times over the years. But hey, why not celebrate all month long?
Fast Hot Dog Facts
- In 2015, nearly 1 billion pounds of hot dogs were sold at retail stores. That equates to more than $2.5 billion spent on hot dogs in America. Beefy!
- It’s estimated that baseball fans will consume more than 19.4 million hot dogs and more than 4.3 million sausages during the 2016 Major League baseball season. Speaking of ballpark franks, check out this list of insane hot dogs you can buy at baseball stadiums.
- Los Angeles Dodgers fans are projected to eat the most hot dogs in 2016, with more than 2.6 million franks consumed—that’s enough to round the bases at Dodger Stadium 3,693 times. The New York Yankees take second place, with fans eating an estimated 1.55 million hot dogs.
- Given the above stat, it should come as little surprise that the top hot dog–consuming cities all play host to a baseball stadium: In order, we have Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Tampa.
- The Chicago O’Hare International Airport sees 725,000 hot dogs consumed a year. That’s six times more than Los Angeles International Airport and LaGuardia Airport combined.
- A survey from 2014 reveals that mustard (71 percent) is the preferred hot dog topping followed by ketchup (52 percent), onions (47 percent), chili (45 percent) and relish (41 percent).
- You can cook a dog many ways, but 63 percent of Americans prefer their franks grilled.
The above stats were sourced from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
Do you preferred grilled hot dogs? Let us your favorite in the comments!
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