Hot dog to change shape as it poses choking hazard to children

How many of you just got hungrier? (Photo credit: iStock)

If the world’s best engineers were to design the deadliest airway-blocker for children, they would come up with the hot dog, says Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio (National Post: USA today).

That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics declared the hot dog the leading food-related choking threat to children. The academy proposes the hot dog ditch its infamous form and undergo a design makeover in the name of health and safety (maybe not so much the health part—it’s not like we eat hot dogs for their nutritious value).

Will the hot dog’s vegetarian cousin follow suit? For me, the veggie dog serves merely as a vehicle transporting mustard from its plastic yellow French’s bottle to my anxiously-awaiting mouth.

However, for most vegetarians it is the dog’s duty to recreate the savory sensations of an inexpensive (who are we kidding?) impulse buy and a gooey gush of random leftover animal parts molded into a scrumptious concoction—minus the random, leftover animal parts.

If hot dogs change their shape, will veggie dogs follow suit? Will they lose their point (aha)? Or does it even matter?

Inspiration for this article came from the blog post “A hot dog by any other shape—would be as good?” by Penny Caldwell, Editor of Cottage Life magazine.

Enjoy this humorous hot dog cartoon alternative by Gary Clement.

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