Wiener 2.0

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Boston's Fenway Park led the major leagues in hot dogs served during the 2008 pro baseball season.

I've been on the WWW since it went "public," and over the years, I've seen the timeliness of Web news sites improve from offering the previous day's news to providing up-to-the-second reports. Good or bad, I now get most of my news from the Internet, and I have seen some wild, wild headlines in my day. Yesterday morning, one particular story link really "got" me. In this story, a doctor's suggestion that some foods cause choking more than others is carefully fed through the journalism grinder. Out came a headline stating that Pediatricians Want Redesign of Hot Dogs, Candy to Curb Kids' Choking. Quite a step, eh?

Franks can cause choking, of course, as can many other foods that are improperly chewed. Personally, I find it difficult to fathom that a group of doctors might be actively pursuing and lobbying meat companies to find a new shape for the hot dog. Even before the Internet delivered our daily news, however, there have been attempts to "improve" American classics (see "New Coke").

So, with three important things in mind:

1. this blog is not X-rated
2. hot dogs have a distinctively suggestive shape
3. this blog is still not X-rated

What's the solution? More specifically, What's your solution? Could frankfurters be "redesigned" to reduce the choking risk? If so, how? Is chili still an option? And how will this affect the whole bun-vs.-dog dynamic? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

The best (and most _floss-ish) answer will win a trivia book from my personal collection. Good luck!