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Fixing the Design of the Hot Dog, Part II
Eric Lipman told you here back in February about the scourge that is the design of the hot dog. In February, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement on Prevention of Choking Among Children
that identified the hot dog as the food on which children are
most likely to choke and die. The AAP even called for a redesign of the hot dog to make it safer for kids.
Apparently that was all Eugene D. Gagliardi, Jr. needed to hear, and he leaped into action. Consumerist reports that Gagliardi -- a food designer who is credited with inventing Steak-umms (genius!) and popcorn chicken -- has come forward with a new, patented hot dog with eight slits that open during cooking. This causes the hot dog to easily break up into smaller pieces, "potentially reducing the likelihood that a child could choke on it."
You see, Gagliardi's hot dog invention ...
comprises an elongated food product having a central axis extending along its length and two portions, a segmented portion comprised of at least two segments that are separable from each other, and an unsegmented portion which is substantially contiguous to the segmented portion. A consumer's biting into the food product generally perpendicular to the central axis results in the separation of the segments, creating in the mouth of the consumer small food pieces relative to the size of the bitten-off section to reduce the likelihood of choking on the food product.
Didn't catch all that? Maybe this drawing will help:
Still not grasping it? Look -- the guy invented the Steak-umm! When he tells you he's got a better hot dog for you, just accept it.
Posted by Bruce Carton on May 27, 2010 at 11:41 AM | Permalink
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