Headline of the Week
Abby Humphreys

Features

Headline of the Week

Weekly, the Racer X Slack thread is filled with great headlines from newspapers around the globe. So, we’ve decided to make it a weekly feature here on Exhaust.

It’s been an exciting week for hot dog enthusiasts:

A man sold unfiltered hot dog water—which is exactly what it sounds like—for nearly $38 per bottle at a festival in Vancouver. The bottles featured a single hot dog submerged in what appeared to be an expensive-looking Voss water bottle, and signs at the booth even included testimonials from the likes of “Darren Hunktub” and “Dr. Cynthia Dringus” on the water’s health benefits, which included maintaining a youthful appearance, being keto diet-compatible, and even increasing brain function.

If it sounds too bizarre to be true, you’re correct: Delish.com stated that the booth was a stunt by tour manager and artist Douglas Bevans “meant to make people think harder about the health products they purchase and use.” The fine print at the bottom of one of the flyers reads: “Hot Dog Water in its absurdity hopes to encourage critical thinking related to product marketing and the significant role it can play in our purchasing choices.” 

Despite this, the novelty of the product—or ignorance of the consumer—drove actual sales at the booth. In an interview with Global News, Bevans said they’d gone through 60 liters of “real hot dog water” that day. 

Here’s what this headline would look like in print:

Additionally, the age-old debate of whether a hot dog is a sandwich was finally solved by a food expert—Jeff Mauro, who hosts “Sandwich King” on Food Network. The verdict? YES!

According to The Daily Beast, Mauro goes on to say, "It’s between carbs. It’s handheld. It eats and chews like a sandwich and there are two independent sides.” He claims that in the same way we have a taxonomic rank for different species (such as animals being in the same genus or order), the same ranking system exists for foods: “…There is the kingdom of sandwiches and then you have the class of horizontal cased meats, and under that in the phylum is hot dog.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, Jeff. Keep calm and hot dog on.