The Ridiculous Record For The World's Longest Hot Dog

Americans love their hot dogs, consuming an estimated 20 billion frankfurters annually, or an average of 70 hot dogs per person every year, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC). These sausages typically consist of meat and/or poultry, such as beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, and when plopped in a bun, they make the perfect handheld meal.

Because of their portability and short cooking time, hot dogs are a popular street food to buy from vendors and eat on the go. Wieners are great for summer cookouts and picnics, as well. They are also strongly "linked" with America's favorite summer pastime of baseball, and it is believed that a form of the hot dog was being served to hungry fans at ballparks as far back as the early 1890s (via NHDSC).

Hot dogs come in different sizes and styles depending on the region, but a standard dog is about 6 inches in length. As the name implies, a foot-long measures 12 inches. But these humble dogs are just child's play compared to the world's longest hot dog.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest hot dog ever made at a ridiculous 668 feet, 7.62 inches. This monumental feat of sausage making was accomplished by Novex S.A. at the Expoferia 2011 in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay.

Thankfully, this wasn't just a publicity stunt and the food didn't go to waste. After it was crafted, the hot dog was actually portioned out into 2,000 pieces for people to nosh their own little morsel of history (via Guinness).

In 1996, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, in partnership with Olympic sponsor Sara Lee Meats, created what would have been the world's longest hot dog, an astounding 1,996-foot colossus prepared at the Georgia Dome for the Summer Olympics (per Atlanta History Center). However, the ceremonial record-breaking attempt did not qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records because the massive frankfurter was held by individual buns rather than one uninterrupted bun.