How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun: Accidental Discoveries and Unexpected Inspirations That Shape What We Eat and Drink

by Josh Chetwynd, David Wheeler (Illustrations)

Sometimes it's neither art nor science that serves as the origins of the everyday kitchen and food items that we take for granted today. Sometimes, as Josh Chetwynd shows us in How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun, some of our greatest culinary achievements were simply by-products of "damned good luck." In How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun, Josh explores the origins of kitchen inventions, products, and foodstuff in seventy-five short essays that dispel popular myths and draw lines between food facts and food fiction. Josh's charming text combined with simple line illustrations makes this an excellent gift and go-to source book for all food and trivia buffs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, History, Trivia, Technology, Food and Drink

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

A longtime journalist, I've worked as a staff writer for USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter and U.S. News & World Report. My byline has also shown up in such varied publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Times (of London), Variety, MLB.com, The Harvard Negotiation Law Review and the Chicago Tribune.

To date, I've written seven books.Notably, How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun was released by Lyons Press, which tells the tales of accidental discoveries and unexpected inspirations in the food world, charted on the New York Times best seller list in 2015. Another of my books The Secret History of Balls, was named a "Best Book of 2011" by NPR.

Other titles have ranged in topics from how show business changed the English language to the origins of all things nice to the history of European baseball.

Reviews

[Cynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a light summer reads challenge. Here I found many foods and products that I have found or had in kitchens all my life--Bisquik to speed quickly breads prep; sandwichea for cool.lunch; tv dinners for easy meal prep; chocolate cookies for treats; popsicles to get cooled by by; hot dog buns for summer picnic grills; mayonnaise for cool summer salads and more.

Pleasant factoid reading--good for bus riding and waiting at medical offices.

[B. Rule · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some interesting anecdotes about the origins of various types of foods and food-related products, but it's so frothy and insubstantial that it's barely worth the time to read. It's written at the level of trivia blurbs that might pop up on the Food Network, and the author takes a cavalier attitude towards his subject, tossing off competing accounts with a shrug of the shoulders and a refusal to dip below the surface of things. His humor is groan-worthy and the prose is conversational. It's not horrible if you're looking for bathroom reading about the kitchen, but don't expect much more.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love food, trivia, and odd stories about how now-commonplace items came into being. Those three subjects collide in this book, and the result is a very entertaining, often humorous, usually surprising look at how many things we now take for granted came into being, not just items like the hot dog bun in the title (better than eating it wearing a glove), but also Nachos (creative desperation), Caesar Salad (nope, not the Roman), and Kool-Aid (an inventor goes postal). Aside from food items, we have such standards of modern life as the Saran Wrap, Corningware and the dishwasher, the last developed by an aristocratic woman tired of all his nice plates and cups being broken by the ham-handed help. What many of these food and food-related innovations have in common is that they were created either by accident or through fortuitous incidents. In the book, Louis Pasteur is credited with saying that in the field of observation, the prepared mind is favored by fortune. This is certainly the case in the creation of Bisquick, which was once nothing more than a cooking shortcut in late-night railroad dining cars…until a salesman saw its possibilities. The same is true of the microwave oven in that many scientists noticed how food heated up in the presence of magnetron tubes, but it took a “prepared mind” to make the connection between a melted candy bar in his pocket and a device that now no college student can live without. Not all origin stories are clear cut, for the passage of years have produced many claimants for the mantle of inventor of one thing or another, either for fame or monetary gain, and some of those battles for recognition are as interesting as the inventions themselves. The book is divided into specific sections for ease of browsing, and references are included for all the claims and counterclaims. Whether you are truly interested in the origins of modern food, or just want to annoy your friends, this book is a pleasant and interesting diversion.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little, bite-sized chunks of food history, like the story of Kool-Aid and how microwaves were discovered. I have been having trouble focusing lately, so these were just what I needed.

[elstaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read, with brief discussions of the origins of the foods covered. Not in depth, and doesn't necessarily always come down definitively on the side of one origin story being true, but for me that was fine--this was exactly what I was looking for. Plus, a bibliography at the end for further reading always delights my nerdy heart.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nonfiction> History, Trivia, Food
Interesting tidbits but too many of them complete conjecture. Idk what I expected, but article-style entries was not it and is not usually a style I enjoy. This has potential as a cool coffee-table book but to read it cover to cover was just meh.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. It was a lot less biased than the last kitchen based history I read (Consider the Fork: How Technology Transforms the Way We Cook and Eat). This was much more of a presentation of the actual history of the items. I already new some of the stories, but still enjoyed the tales. The ones I didn't know were extremely interesting, one even helped me on a recent trivia game. If you are interested in food, or history, especially the combination of both, I would recommend giving this book a try.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like food. I like fun trivia facts. A book filled with fun trivia facts about food sounds like a winner to me. Couple caveats: some of the facts seem a little tangential (a story about how linoleum was invented? really!?) and it got annoying when a lot of the origin stories can't be fully verified (I really wanted to know whether Philippe's really originated the french dip sandwich and the Buena Vista the Irish coffee, as they claimed). But still, good book to read on the Metro for my commute.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting facts/trivia about food, everything from popsicles to pop rocks, chimichangas to nutella. Great conversation fare.

[Jennifer Gilbert-Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the interesting facts behind the making of everyday food we take for granted.

[Rulesbydaisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. It was a lot less biased than the last kitchen based history I read (Consider the Fork: How Technology Transforms the Way We Cook and Eat). This was much more of a presentation of the actual history of the items. I already new some of the stories, but still enjoyed the tales. The ones I didn't know were extremely interesting, one even helped me on a recent trivia game. If you are interested in food, or history, especially the combination of both, I would recommend giving this book a try.

[Theresa Jehlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a number of these food trivia books over the years. What I appreciate about Chetwynd's effort is that he presents conflicting stories about the same item while trying to discern what's actually true and what's not. While being grouped into categories such as Starters and Small Plates, Main Courses, and Desserts is fairly standard, the categories Additives and Extras and Kitchen Inventions and Inventions are unique to this book. Products such as Alka-Seltzer, matches, and dishwashers also have fascinating, sometimes accidental, origin stories. This book is good for bedtime reading as you can read 1 or 10 short essays before drifting off to sleep.

[Kathy C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short!

This is my kind of easy read books, information that you've maybe wondered about, and lite enough reading to forget your troubles for a while. It was way too short though!

[Malaraa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a "waiting room" book. Quick little stories meant to entertain. It does fine at that job, but it's not very unusual or interesting beyond that, and doesn't stand out much from the horde of other books in the same style.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Origin stories and myths about how some food and food related inventions came to be. Quite interesting and entertaining. A nice read, if you are looking for a change from those other typical topics and genres.

[Linda Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun romp discussing the origins of many common foods

This covers a wide gamut of common foods and where they originated. Some are known for sure, but most have two or three folk tales that may or may not be true. Short and a quick read, but interesting and entertaining.

[Katie Kreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟/5
I love learning unknown, useful, and historical facts so I had high hopes for this book. Most of the ‘facts’ were rumors or stories and have been contested. Dryly written, but a few interesting tidbits.

[Jeff Siperly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found maybe 40% of the stories interesting. But fun book, nonetheless.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little read.

A short book about the invention or discovery of things important to our lives. Teflon! Pink lemonade! Brandy! Cognac! You will find this entertaining.

[Maura Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, interesting read about things I've often wondered about. You don't get a lot of detail, while you do get plenty of speculation, but it's a pleasant, non-taxing book.

[Erin Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting information about the origin of many favorite food items!

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun, light read. It is not an in-depth work of journalism and instead acts as a compilation of already-published information from other sources. However, it doesn't pretend to be anything than what it is, presenting both anecdotes and facts with a lighthearted flair. Some food invention myths are so a part of popular culture that only attempts at their verification offer new ideas. Others educate about the "time before" such taken-for-granted inventions such as plastic wrap or hot dog buns. It also offers sources for more reading on similar topics.

[Xilks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting the stories to be a bit more interesting. Some were good, but others felt like space fillers. That being said, it was an okay read. Not that compelling. I wasn't pleased with the cheesy sense of humor and the slightly patronizing tone some "author" comments had behind them. That authorship was better left behind the words, rather than trying to hard to make their voice heard through the composition.

Overall, it was a solid "okay." Wouldn't really recommend it unless you really like random knowledge.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very appetizing.

The cover is misleadingly professional, as everything else about the book gives off a very strong "self-published" vibe. Inside, it's a mish-mash of origin stories for various foods, drinks, and kitchen implements, all written in an extremely casual tone (with plenty of chatty parenthetical asides), and occasionally festooned with what appears to be clipart.

wat?

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

A list of foodstuffs and how they came to be invented/improved. I was expecting a more in-depth study of these items and the cultural changes to led to their existence, something along the line of "Consider the Fork" by Bee Wilson. Some interesting anecdotes, and some good humor interspersed in the stories (I especially liked the story of graham crackers).

[Rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

for what it is, it's a neat book. It had a lot of interesting essays about how certain foods came to be. Some stories were more interesting than others. It got a little ranty at times but that's okay. It isn't something I'd normally read through if I were looking for an actual book, but it's cool. Lots of fun trivia to annoy my friends with.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always interesting to learn how ideas were started. The inventions/ideas in this book are fairly common or well known, but the stories aren't all that interesting. The ideas were logical improvements to a start up company, or no one really knew who came up with the idea.

[stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

uh, giving up on this one. not at all what i was hoping--so much so that i stopped reading for months!

[Tally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun trivia, but short on details. Reads as though this book was written in a hurry.

[Maroun Mattar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way it was written, very informative! Wish there was more history about the food/drinks though! I really enjoyed this book!