The flagpole scene from the movie A Christmas Story is recreated by hotdogs! Don’t miss the surprise ending. -via The Daily What

Any size hot dog can be a bun-length hot dog when you spiral-cut them! Instructables member dreamberry shows us how, using a drill bit and a knife. Commenters suggested using a bamboo skewer instead of a drill bit, so you can boil, grill, or deep-fry the dog in no time. Link -via Laughing Squid

PS: Once you master the technique, you’ll want to try the double-spiral cut. Link

I don’t know about you guys, but I certainly appreciate a good hot dog. That being said, I have a serious aversion to getting price gouged, which is why I find the idea of a $69 hot dog to be simply sickening. If you’re into that sort of thing though, or if you love laughing at the stupid things some rich people will pay for, don’t miss out on this Cracked article featuring 5 absurdly priced snack foods.

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NATICK, Mass., July 28 (UPI) — A Massachusetts man said he is touring the region’s hot dog eateries on his quest to eat a frankfurter a day for 31 days.

Rob Merlino, 47, of Natick, said he is celebrating July’s National Hot Dog Month by having one hot dog for lunch each day during the month, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

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I love hot dogs, but usually I go for the standard toppings. For those of you with more adventurous palates though, Serious Eats has a great selection of bizarre but delicious dog toppings from restaurants around the nation. My favorite are the turkey dogs above with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and a side of cranberry sauce. Yum!

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If you keep up with the riveting world of competitive eating contests, then you have probably heard that hot-dog-munching legend Takeru Kobayashi once again refused to eat in the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest due to a contractual dispute. But Kobayashi proved that he still has what it takes to be a champion, smashing the existing record for number of hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes -bringing it from 62 dogs to 69.

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It wasn’t a personal best for the 27-year-old nicknamed Jaws, but it was enough to out-eat second-place finisher Patrick Bertoletti by nine wieners. Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., won $10,000 and the coveted mustard-yellow belt.

“I feel great!” he said after the contest, adding that he was going to drink a lot of water and avoid hot dogs for a few days.

In a separate division for women, Sonya Thomas ate 40 hot dogs to claim the pink belt championship. Chestnut’s longtime rival, Takeru Kobayashi, did not participate because he refused to sign a contract with the eating league. Link -via J-Walk Blog

2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti likes the idea of employing ex-felons but hates the name.

He thinks the name and the sign glorify crime.

“Felony Franks? The home of the misdemeanor wiener? Food so good it’s criminal? You are actually in a sense elevating the life of crime here in our city and we cannot tolerate that.”

John Hunt, an ex-felon who lives several block away, agrees with the alderman.

“It’s a good thing if he’s going to hire ex-felons because… that’s a beautiful thing. But the name? He should change the name… Felony Franks is still making me feel like a felon.”

Andrews plans to open his first stand next month. Link -via Unique Daily

Yeah. Apparently there’s a whole world of hot dogs out there I haven’t even considered.

Picture from Dan Leveille on Wikipedia

When I was soliciting ideas for my upcoming trip to L.A. on mentalfloss, more than one Flosser suggested that I try out Pink’s. I fully intend to, because the Martha Stewart dog sounds delicious – mustard, relish, bacon, tomato, sauerkraut and sour cream. My husband will probably enjoy the Ozzy dog, named after the Prince of Darkness himself. It’s a polish sausage with nacho cheese, American cheese, onions, guacamole and chopped tomatoes.

In Venezuela, expect to be offered an incredibly wide variety of toppings for your dog. Just a few that might be found include carrot shreds, french fries, corn niblets, garlic sauce, chili sauce, mayo and tartar sauce.

In Columbia, you’ll find the perro caliente comes with mashed potato chips, strings of ham or bacon, ketchup, mayo, mustard, onions and pineapple sauce.

West Virginia likes to top their hot dogs with chili sauce – not so weird – and sweet cole slaw.

Picture from jslander on flickr

From what I understand, Sweden loves hot dogs. One of the most popular variations is the “tunnebrod rulleor”, a dog wrapped in flatbread and stuffed with various toppings. Mashed potato is apparently a local favorite.

Georgians (especially those in the southern part of the state) enjoy scrambled dogs. You can find it in Columbus, Ga., at Dinglewood Pharmacy, where your dog is not complete without dill pickles, ketchup, mustard, chili, onions and oyster crackers. Lots of people also say your meal isn’t complete unless you top it off with an icy Coca-Cola, since it also originiated in Georgia.

Guatemalans know there’s nothing like topping your hot dog (“shucos”) with more meat. In addition to toppings like boiled cabbage, mustard and mayo, you have the option to add bacon, pepperoni, salami, chorizo or longaniza to complete your shuco.

photo from Javier Aroche on flickr

The granddaddy of the shuco is sold in Antigua, Guatemala and is called “La Ballena” – the Whale. You get chorizo, longaniza, salchicha, ham, bacon, pepperoni, german ham and sausages, chicken breast, beef steak fajitas and polish sausages. It’ll set you back between $5 and $7 depending on the toppings. I have a friend who might move to Guatemala after hearing this. His idea of a perfect meal is one which has a “meat trifecta”, so this would be right up his alley.

Although ‘hot dogs’ can be found Down Under, a more popular option in Australia is called ‘sausage sizzle’. It’s a barbecued sausage on bread, optionally with condiments and onion. ‘Sausage sizzle’ is a versatile word, though – it’s kind of like the word barbeque. It can be used to describe food, but it also describes a gathering of people, grills and adult beverages (at least that’s what barbeques consist of in my world). Corn dogs have all kinds of aliases – battered sav, dagwood dog and pluto pup.

These are only a few examples – I’m sure there’s strange toppings to be had on hot dogs all over the world. What’s the speciality in your area?