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Ask Mr Brain . . . all will be explained

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What is the origin of the 'hot dog'?

The birthplace of this all-American food is generally given as Frankfurt- am-Main in Germany in the 15th century. It travelled to America via hungry German immigrants in the mid-19th century.

But the history becomes unclear as a few competing stories try to explain how the 'hot dog' emerged and why it ended up in a bun.

The most popular tale has it that Charles Feltman, a Coney Island food vendor first sold 'dachshund sausages' on split rolls around 1871.

Later on a cold spring day in 1900, an ice-cream seller who was losing money decided to switch to selling the sausages instead.

He had the 'dachshunds' put in hot-water tanks and sent them into the stands yelling 'Red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they're hot!'

Sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan heard this pitch and sketched a talking sausage snuggled in a warm bun. Unable to spell the word dachshund, he scribbled 'hot dog'.

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