Yesterday I was asked a question which I was not sure how to answer. This question had never even crossed my mind until this moment. I was caught off guard and could only throw out my best guess at the time.
The sheer audacity of this question is mind blowing. Everyone around me began debating right after the question was asked. There were different views and more questions were created before any were answered.
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
My first knee-jerk reaction was yes, a hot dog is technically a sandwich, but nobody calls it a sandwich so this question is irrelevant. However, I was shocked at how firmly some people were set in their belief that a hot dog is, or is not, a sandwich.
Somebody in the group googled the definition of a sandwich to get to the bottom of this. Here is the definition straight from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
“Two pieces of bread with something (such as meat, peanut butter, etc.) between them. Two or more cookies, crackers, or slices of cake with something between them.”
Suddenly, both sides of this debate were trying to explain how that had proved their point.
Those who thought a hot dog is a sandwich pointed out how the definition did not exclude any foods as the filling. It said “something between them,” which could easily be a hot dog.
Those who thought a hot dog is not a sandwich focused on the section that said “two pieces of bread” and proclaimed it could not be a sandwich because a hot dog only has one piece of bread.
There is one catch though. Merriam-Webster provides two definitions. The one above is their classification of a simple definition. This is obviously not a simple question. The full definition states:
“a: Two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between. b: One slice of bread covered with food”
This seemed to contradict those who supported the idea that a hot dog is not a sandwich, but both sides were not budging. A new question was brought up because this definition still made no progress toward a consensus.
Is a sub a sandwich?
Most people there agreed that a sub was a sandwich. After all, “sub” is short for “submarine” in the term submarine sandwich.
Everyone knows that subs are made by cutting a loaf of bread and then putting stuff inside of it. However, the problem arises in the way the bread is cut. Some subs are made by completely cutting the loaf of bread into two pieces, while others are made by cutting a long slit in the bread.
This brought up a new level to discuss. If the hot dog bun tears into two pieces of bread, does that make it any more or less of a sandwich?
As the debate raged on, people pushed out the idea of a ripped bun. This was agreeably a sandwich, but not a true hot dog in all of its original glory. Once again, people turned to Google for the answer.
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, a hot dog is not a sandwich. In their statement, they claim, “Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy.’” and they use a sandwich definition from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Those who believe hot dogs are not sandwiches were thrilled with this news. They felt they had won the argument.
However, I am not sure this finishes the discussion. Does limiting something’s significance change what is actually is? The Dalai Lama is still a person even if a better title is more appropriate, just as a panini is still a sandwich, even though it is not called a sandwich.
I relish the fact you have mustard the strength to ketchup on your hot dog reading, but now you need to decide for yourself. Is a hot dog really a sandwich, is it a wannabe hoagie, or is it something all its own?
