On the fourth of July Americans will chow down around 150 million hot dogs. That is enough to stretch from the east coast back to the west coast 5 times.

John Morrell, right here in Sioux Falls, makes lots of the wieners folks will be grilling hot dogs around South Dakota this year.   Impress your friends with these Hot Dog Fun Facts at your holiday get together.

Top 5 Hot Dog Producers:
1-Ball Park Franks $565 Million Annuals Sales
2-Oscar Mayer $523 Million Annuals Sales
3-Kunzler & Co. $345 Million Annuals Sales
4-Vienna Beef $100 Million Annuals Sales
5-Nathan's - $71 Million Annuals Sales (John Morrell)

The most popular hot dog condiments:
1-Mustard
2-Onions
3-Chili
4-Ketchup
5-Relish

-Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans consume 7 billion hot dogs.

-American supermarket wiener sales are estimated to be around $2.5 billion this year.

-Hot dog sales between Memorial Day and Labor Day make up approximately 38% of all annual hot dog sales.

-July is the month with the most hot dog sales with 10% of all hot dog sales

-So Why are hot dogs sold in packs of 10 and hot dog buns sold in packs of 8? The short answer is because the hot dog makers and the hot dog bun makes don't talk to each other. The long answer is because when hot dogs first gained popularity in the U.S. Folks bought them by the pound at the butcher shop and there was no standard number per package. The hot dog bun folks typically baked their rolls in pans designed to cook 4 buns so they slapped two pans worth or 8 buns in a package. These days manufacturers are starting to offer different quantities of hot dogs per pack and bakers are doing the same and offering 10 and even 12 buns per package. This however is the exception and not to the rule.

-Hot dogs cause about 17 % of all food asphyxiation deaths in children under 10.

-According to Guinness, the most expensive hot dogs ever were 3/4-pound, 18-inch dogs sold for charity in 2012 at a Sacramento, California, restaurant. Topped with an impressive array of fancy condiments including moose milk cheese, maple-syrup bacon, organic baby greens, whole-grain mustard, and cranberries. The dogs cost $145 each, with proceeds donated to a children’s hospital.  Which brings up the question: "Who exactly milked the moose?"

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