Monday, December 08, 2008

Silly kitchen gadget No. 31

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my apple peeler-corer-slicer in lieu of a silly gadget, and last week I just never got around to posting one at all. Mom was still here, so I was busy and distracted.

This week I've got one, though! Yes, let's talk hot dogs. Do you love 'em? Do you love them so much that you'd pay the amazing low, low price of $15.99 for a device that does nothing but heat your hot dogs and toast your buns?

(If I had a dirty mind, which I don't, I could insert some pithy comments about euphemisms here. Hi Mom!)

I found a YouTube video of the thing in action. There's mention of some Internet meme involving the hot dog toaster that resulted in a run on the product. I must have missed that one.

You can see from the assorted images here that there is more than one brand of hot-dog toaster. At first I thought they were all the same toaster, with different labels slapped on, but look at this last one. Can there really be more than one factory out there making hot dog toasters?

What the heck was that Internet meme?

14 comments:

  1. Oh come on! I LOVE hot dogs! It's not really the price or the single-usefulness, but really the clutter factor that turns me off :P
    I wonder if it just takes hot dogs or if it can accommodate sausages of other nationalities.
    I wonder what other foods are hot dog-shaped. (I know! It's also a churros heater!)

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  2. Manggy... that is brilliant! Churro Lovers UNITE! :D

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  3. Okay, I've seen this in the Skymall catalog and have to say I've been weirdly tempted to get it for my own mom. She LOVES hot dogs. And she also has some dementia. So it's kind of dangerous for her to boil water, she can never remember how many seconds to zap it in a microwave, and this would make things really easy for her, not to mention safe. But I think I'll resist and just continue making her hotdogs myself.

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  4. Barney Stinson on "How I Met Your Mother" has one (that he purchased at Skymall, of course). And everything he does is AWESOME. (He is quite hip among the kids, I hear. :^D)

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  5. But where is the crispy factor? The wonderful grill ridges on the dog, the light toasting on the bun?
    *anck*

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  6. well, aside from the fact that there's just no more room in my kitchen I WANTS IT AND I WANTS IT RIGHT NOW!!! Yum. And I do have a dirty mind.

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  7. Well, of course we need a wide selection of hot dog makers. Because our kitchen counters are so empty.

    P.S. My word verification for this comment was "ovens"--is that some kind of mindfuck?

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  8. Oh yes, because putting them in a pan of water on the stove is just too much work.

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  9. Here is how I made hot dogs in college. Take a piece of lamp cord with plug attached, slit the wire in two at the other end for six inches, cut off insulation, solder a 10 penny nail to each lead. Poke the dog with the nails, one at either end, not touching, and put the assembly on a plate. Plug it in and wait for the desired sizzling. Unplug (don't forget!), place in roll, add mustard and a cold beer.

    Rick in VT

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  10. DB, or the sausage ...

    Manggy, clever!

    Mimi, OK! (I always get one at the Costco concession stand.)

    Aw, Susan, that may be one good reason to get this. I can see it for someone with kids, too, so they don't have to worry about their youngster messing with the stove.

    Lindy, aha! Thank you so much for cluing me in. (I do tend to be clueless about TV stuff.)

    Titus, the toasting you get, but no grilling. But I think most people boil their hot dogs? I dunno, I never eat them except at ballgames.

    Alecto, you crazy! Or maybe just naughty.

    Kathi, the world conspires to clutter your kitchen. (I've been meaning to mention to you the sudden improvement in Google captcha. They've found some new algorithm that creates "almost words" that are a lot easier to type.

    Summer, someday maybe your kid will want one!

    Betts, instant gratification takes too long.

    Brilliant, Rick! A really "hot" dog. What happens if you forget to unplug?

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  11. Well, I still hate the captcha, but thanks for the improvement, I guess. Although my word today is "prosiot"?

    I don't much like the boiled hot dog. I cook mine in a skillet, unless I am desperate for one RIGHT NOW, in which case the microwave will do.

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