What are hot dogs really made of?
A viral TikTok which has been viewed more than 244 million times claims to show a cross section of a hot dog sausage under the microscope. When viewed up close, the clip shows dirt, worms and hair on the meat. However, all is not what it seems, as the video’s creator later confessed that the clip had been altered. A second, less-viewed clip reveals the video creator deliberately contaminating the sausage by rubbing it on his jumper, computer keyboard, and desk before placing it under the microscope.
The original edited version of the video was picked up by news outlets and shared on various platforms perpetuating the spread of misinformation, which is when fake news has been shared unintentionally, by someone who doesn’t know it’s fake. It’s important to pause before you share a piece of content like this, and consider whether or not it might be fake.
In reality, hot dogs are created from small chunks of beef, pork or poultry, along with spices, which are ground together to make a batter-like mixture which is then made into a sausage shape.
When did hot dogs become popular in the US?
Sausages have been a popular food in Europe for centuries, with varieties such as Frankfurter and Wiener originating in Germany and Austria. However, there is a lot of debate around who actually introduced the hot dog to the United States. According to Brooklyn native and Coney Island historian Michael Quinn, one of the big players in the American hot dog game was a German immigrant called Charles Feltman who started selling ‘Coney Island red hots’ from his converted pie cart on the beachfront in 1867. By 1900 Feltman had turned his sausage selling business into an empire that featured the largest restaurant in the world, a movie theatre and even a roller coaster!
