[JoeProBono]

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?

[mjp]

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.

An improvement in a product is a good way for a company with low profitability to raise its rate of profit.

[Tainan]

How about parents just teaching and making sure their kids bite, chew and then swallow their darn food?