This President Famously Served Hot Dogs To The Royal Family
Every year in the U.S. 9 billion hot dogs are purchased in shops by hungry Americans – a seismic figure obtained from research by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. While it's difficult to arrive at even a ballpark figure, the organization estimates the actual number of hot dogs eaten in the U.S. is more likely to be 20 billion a year.
The fact that there even needs to be such a council is a testament to the supreme control that hot dogs have over American cuisine. Whether they're coated with a simple squirt of mustard or layered with onions, cheese, and sauerkraut, any combination of hot dog design is acceptable (providing no one is offensive enough to eat one plain, of course).
It should therefore come as no surprise that hot dogs are considered to be so regal they are even the perfect choice of food for royalty. Well, at least that's what President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided when he hosted the British royal family for an official visit (via Smithsonian Magazine).
The president served hot dogs and beer to King George VI
Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, were invited to the U.S. by FDR in June 1939. It was the first-ever visit to America by a sitting British monarch (via FDR Library and Museum). Perhaps because of this significance, the president made sure the royal couple sampled the beauty of America – in the form of hot dogs.
The hot dogs were shared during an afternoon picnic hosted by President Roosevelt at Top Cottage, his latest holiday home, according to the FDR Library and Museum. The organization records a seemingly very hastily written menu that included the delights of hot dogs, Virginia Ham, strawberry cheesecake, and of course, beer.
Despite the incredible informalities of the occasion, in true royal style, Queen Elizabeth opted not to eat her hot dog in the vulgar fashion of squashing it into her mouth with her hands. Instead, Smithsonian Magazine reports, she chose to eat the hot dog in complete sophistication by using a knife and fork – although she was still ended up using a paper plate.