Posted on 03/02/2010 1:28:37 PM PST by JoeProBono
According to both common sense and the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are two truths about hot dogs which neither science nor industry can afford to ignore: kids love hot dogs, and hot dogs are the perfect size and shape for a child to choke on. To wit: "If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child's airway, you couldn't do better than a hot dog," one AAP doctor said.
As such, the hot dog is in need of a redesign. So the folks at Fast Company took a look at California design house RKS's quest to cook up a completely rethought hot dog, and they did it using a design tool that is decidedly child-approved: the Play-Doh Fun Factory.
The team started with a blank slate but eventually decided that – in a tip of their hats to tradition – they wouldn’t radically alter the hot dog’s essence; a meat product, packaged with a bun, that more or less serves as a vehicle to get otherwise unmanageable condiments from plate to mouth.
After experimenting with hollowed-out dogs, dogs with grooves cut into the sides and even some wieners resembling the more complicated organelles of a living cell, they finally settled on the design below.
While the notion of redesigning foods to make them less dangerous seems a bit over-ambitious to us – a simple pretzel nearly felled the leader of the free world, proving there’s really no telling what size and shape of delectable snack food is really going to do you in – we are fans of this kind of outside the box thinking. And cylindrical foods really do pose a choking hazard, compounded when you introduce children to the equation. Whether the spiral dog is the future of ballpark and backyard fare is uncertain (we're thinking probably not), but just in case we’re already thinking up ways to capitalize on the new design. Foie gras–stuffed, bacon wrapped slinky dogs anyone?
Maybe take a clue from the U.S. Navy, specifically the submarine corps and change the shape from that dangerous phallic symbol to a nice, soft and safe traingle or even taco shape.
Here’s a neat idea: Chewing.
The gubermint needs to keep their hands off my wiener!
There is no way in hell I gonna eat something that looks like squeeze. Sorry - ain’t gonna happen. Leave the hot dog and sausage alone. Step away from the meat department. Respect my authority. Shoosh... some people.
1) Hot Dogs must be properly cooked at a hot enough temperature to kill potential parasites.
2) There is NO dog meat in the Hot Dog.
Insert picture of Barney Fwank here...
The shape isn’t what scares me about hot dogs.
Someone is gunning for the new patent on the “hot dog shape” approved for America’s major league ballparks. Ought to bring in big $$$.
For little kids - slice the hotdog lengthwise once or twice all the way through, (or simply butterfly’ed prior to cooking.)
Problem solved. No product design necessary.
Your suggestion, although very logical, requires entirely too much personal responsibility.
“Here’s a neat idea: Chewing.”
I thought the same thing. If people are too stupid to chew, well, we need to thin the herd.
You don’t have to eat it, but there are plenty of parents that would opt for this for their small children.
Hey, it’s not the government, it’s free enterprise. Some private company see a new market (a safer hot-dog) and goes for it.
Build a better mouse trap...
Personally, I hope they make a ton of money. Little kids love fun/odd shaped food. The open center has all kinds of possibilites (fill with cheese, chilie, etc...) They may have a winnere here.
For little kids - slice the hotdog lengthwise once or twice all the way through, (or simply butterfly’ed prior to cooking.)
So your solution is the splitadicktemy method? Slicing a hot dog will release all the steamy juicy goodness, leaving the diner with nothing more than a flayed, dried, useless piece of meat. Many a divorce has been based on this alone.
War is on the horizon. DO NOT take away my weenies. If the new kids are too dumb to chew a weenie, it is not my fault. I raised 3 weenie chewing little guys.
Maybe we will just have to sign for buying a weenie, right?
“Did thumone thay wiener?”
Dude, I am still hurting from that one. Nice
They can have my wiener when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers. < /davidcarradine >
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.