Hot Dog

Hot dog (pronounced hot-dawg)

(1) A frankfurter.

(2) A sandwich consisting of a frankfurter (or some sort of sausage of similar shape) in a split roll, eaten usually with (1) mustard, sauerkraut & relish or (2) mustard & ketchup.

(3) Someone who performs complex, showy, and sometimes dangerous manoeuvres, especially in surfing or skiing (hotdogging sometimes a defined class in competition).

(4) Someone thought a show-off, especially in sporting competition.

(5) In informal use, an expression of joy, admiration or delight (occasionally also used ironically in the manner of “that’s great”).

(6) In New Zealand, a battered, deep-fried sausage or saveloy on a stick (essentially the same concept as the US corn dog and the Australian Dagwood dog).

(7) In slang, the human penis, a variation of which is the “man sausage”.

(8) In slang, a sexually suggestive physical gesture involving hip movement (usually as hotdogging).

1894: A coining in US English for commercial purposes, the idea being the vague resemblance of the sausage to a dachshund dog, the “hot” from the traditional use of mustard as a condiment although there’s evidence the early suspicion some hot dogs included actual canine meat weren’t entirely without foundation.  The use as (1) an interjection expressing joy, admiration or delight was another US creation dating from around the turn of the twentieth century (the circumstances unknown) and (2) a descriptor of someone who performs showy, often dangerous stunts was also an Americanism from the same era.  It seems to have begin in sport and is still widely used but has become best known for its use in skiing and surfing where it’s institutionalized to the extent some competitive categories have been named thus.  The variation “hot diggety dog” (also clipped to “hot diggety” was used in the same sense as the interjection “hot dog”, the interpolated “diggety” there for emphasis and rhetorical effect.  The slang synonyms (mostly in the US and not applied exclusively to hot dogs) have included “tubular meat on a bun”, “frank”, “frankfurt”, “frankfurter”, “glizzy”, “pimp steak”, “tube steak”, “wiener”, “weeny”, “ballpark frank”, “cheese coney”, “cheese dog”, “Chicago-style”, “Chicago dog”, “chili dog”, “Coney Island”, “corndog”, “footlong”, “junkyard dog”, “not dog”, “pig in a blanket”, “steamie” “veggie dog” & “frankfurter in a bun”.  In informal use, both single word contractions (hotdog) and hyphenated forms (hot-dog, hot-dogger etc) are common and “hot dog!” as an interjection is heard in the US, especially south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Extra mustard: Lindsay Lohan garnishing her hot dog, New York, 2010.

The construct was hot + dog.  Hot was from the Middle English hot & hat, from the Old English hāt, from the Proto-Germanic haitaz (hot), from the primitive Indo-European kay- (hot; to heat) and was cognate with the Scots hate & hait (hot), the North Frisian hiet (hot), the Saterland Frisian heet (hot), the West Frisian hjit (hot), the Dutch heet (hot), the Low German het (hot), the German Low German heet (hot), the German heiß (hot), the Danish hed (hot), the Swedish het (hot) and the Icelandic heitur (hot).  Dog was from the Middle English dogge (source also of the Scots dug (dog)), from the Old English dogga & docga of uncertain origin.  Interestingly, the original sense appears to have been of a “common dog” (as opposed one well-bred), much as “cur” was later used and there’s evidence it was applied especially to stocky dogs of an unpleasing appearance.  Etymologists have pondered the origin:  It may have been a pet-form diminutive with the suffix -ga (the similar models being compare frocga (frog) & picga (pig), appended to a base dog-, or doc-(the origin and meaning of these unclear). Another possibility is Old English dox (dark, swarthy) (a la frocga from frog) while some have suggested a link to the Proto-West Germanic dugan (to be suitable), the origin of Old English dugan (to be good, worthy, useful), the English dow and the German taugen; the theory is based on the idea that it could have been a child’s epithet for dogs, used in the sense of “a good or helpful animal”.  Few support that and more are persuaded there may be some relationship with docce (stock, muscle), from the Proto-West Germanic dokkā (round mass, ball, muscle, doll), from which English gained dock (stumpy tail).  In fourteenth century England, hound (from the Old English hund) was the general word applied to all domestic canines while dog referred to some sub-types (typically those close in appearance to the modern mastiff and bulldog.  By the sixteenth century, dog had displaced hound as the general word descriptor. The latter coming to be restricted to breeds used for hunting and in the same era, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff.  Unmodified, the English Hot Dog has been borrowed by dozens of languages.  Hot dog is a noun, verb & adjective, hotdoggery & hotdogger are nouns, hotdogging & hotdogged are verbs; the noun plural is hot dogs.

For the 2016 Texas State Fair, the manufacturer went retro, reviving the "Corny Dog" name although, in a sign of the times, vegetarian dogs were available.

The corn-dog (a frankfurter dipped in cornmeal batter, fried, and served on a stick), although the process was patented in 1927, seems to have come into existence between 1938-1942 (the sources differ with most preferring the latter) but it received a lexicographical imprimatur of when it began to appear in dictionaries in 1949 and it was certainly on sale (then as the “corny dog”) at the 1942 Texas State Fair.  In Australia, the local variation of the US corn dog is the Dagwood dog (a batter-covered hot dog sausage, deep fried in batter, dipped in tomato sauce and eaten off a wooden stick), not to be confused with the “battered sav”, a saveloy deep fried in a wheat flour-based batter (as used for fish and chips and which usually doesn’t contain cornmeal).  The Dagwood Dog was named after a character in the American comic strip Blondie.  Dagwood, Blondie’s ineptly comical husband, did have a dog albeit not one especially sausage-like and it may simply have been it was at the time the country’s best known or most popular cartoon dog.

The hot dog as class-identifier: David Cameron showing how the smart set handle a hot dog while on the campaign trail, April 2015.

After leaving Downing Street, Harold Macmillan (1894–1986; UK prime-minister 1957-1963) visited Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1969-1969) in the White House and was served lunch, a meal the former prime-minister found so remarkable that in his six-volume memoirs it warranted a rare exclamation mark: "Hotdogs!"  He didn’t comment further but it’s assumed his experience of the culinary treat must have been the Old Etonian’s first and last.  The hot dog certainly can be political, David Cameron (b 1966; UK prime-minister 2010-2016 and another Old Etonian) attracting derision after being photographed eating his hot dog with knife and fork, something declared “out-of-touch” by the tabloid press which, while usually decrying the class system, doesn’t miss a chance to scorn toffs behaving too well or chavs too badly.  Cameron had other problems with takeaway snacks, caught being untruthful about his history of enjoying Cornish pasties, another working class favourite.  So it would seem for politicians, hot dogs are compulsory but only if eaten in acceptable chav style.

Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) and David Cameron eating hot dogs (both in approved manner) at a college basketball game between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky, Dayton Arena, Ohio, March 2012 (Western Kentucky won 59-56) (left) and UK Labour Party politician Ed Miliband (b 1969) enjoying what came to be known as "the notorious bacon sandwich moment", May 2014 (right).  Mr Miliband didn't attend Eton and some of his high school education was undertaken in the US so presumably he knows how to handle a hot dog.  If so, he has no excuse because a toastie is less challenging. 

Curiously, Mr Cameron, had some three years earlier undergone "hot dog eating training", supervised by President Obama, noted for his expertise (both theoretical and practical) in the subject.  So he knew how it should be done and immediately there was speculation he resorted to knife & fork to avoid any chance of something like Ed Miliband's "notorious bacon sandwich moment", something which had resulted in ridicule and a flood of memes after the photograph was published in Rupert Murdoch's (b 1931) tabloid The Sun on the eve of the 2015 general election.     

Peter Dutton (b 1970; leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party of Australian since May 2022) enjoying a Dagwood dog (in approved bogan manner) in three aspects, Brisbane Exhibition (Ekka), Australia, 2022.  On seeing the photos, Mr Dutton observed of such things: "There is no good angle".  In Australia, it’s probably good for a politician to be known to eat Dagwood dogs but not necessarily be photographed mid-munch.  Interestingly, despite many opportunities, Mr Dutton has never denied being a Freemason.

The Dagwood dog was responsible for an amusing footnote in Australian legal history, a dispute from the 1949 Sydney Royal Easter Show played out in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in its equity jurisdiction, the press reports at the time noting one happy outcome being an “uninterrupted supply of hot dogs during the next few days.”  Hot dogs were one of the show’s big sellers but a dispute arose when allegations were made there had been breaches of letters patent for "improvements in sausage goods" giving the patentees (who sold “Pronto Pups”) "exclusive enjoyment and profit within Australia for sixteen years from September, 1946.  The plaintiffs (holders of the patent), sought an injunction against those who had begun selling “Dagwood Dogs" at the show, preventing them from vending or supplying any of the improvements in sausages described in the patent, the writ claiming Dagwood dogs embodied the patented improvements and that as a consequence of the infringement, the plaintiffs were suffering economic loss.  The trial judge, ordered a hearing for an assessment (a taking of accounts) of damages to be scheduled for the following April and issued a temporary order requiring the defendants undertook to pay into a trust account the sum of ½d (half a penny) for each for each axially penetrated sausage sold.  The culinary delight has since been a fixture at city and country shows around the country although the name Pronto Pup didn’t survive; after the judgment in the Supreme Court it was replaced by “Pluto Pup” which also didn’t last although whether that was a consequence of a C&D (“cease & desist letter”) from Walt Disney’s lawyers isn’t known.  Anyway, since then it’s been Dagwood dogs all the way except in South Australia (proud of their convict-free past, they often do things differently) where they’re knows as “Dippy Dogs” (an allusion to the generous dip in the tomato sauce pot) which may be of Canadian origin, although there. in at least some provinces, they’re sold as “Pogos”.

Robert Mitchum (1917–1997) paying attention to what Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) is saying.

There are a number of “hot dog” stories about the film star Robert Mitchum, all told in the vein of him arriving at a Hollywood fancy-dress party covered in tomato ketchup and when asked to explain replying: “I’m a hot dawg!”.  That was representative of the sanitized form in which the tale was usually published, the original apparently involved the ketchup being applied to something which, anatomically, more resembled the hot dog’s sausage.

Zimbabwe's T20 cricket team, winners of the inaugural Women's T20 cricket tournament at the 13^th African Games, Accra, Ghana, March 2024.

Hotdog Stand color scheme, Microsoft Windows 3.1, 1992.

The industry legend is the “Hotdog Stand” color scheme Microsoft in 1992 shipped with Windows 3.1 was the winner of an informal contest between the designers to see who could concoct the worst possible combination.  Whether or not the competition was alcohol-fueled depends on which version of the story is told but all agree the winner based her entry on a vision of a hot dog, smothered in mustard and ketchup.  It’s doubtful many deliberately chose “Hotdog Stand” as their default scheme although there were certainly sysadmins (system administrators) who vengefully would impose it on annoying users, the more vindictive adding insult to injury by ensuring the user couldn’t change it back.  However, Hotdog Stand did briefly find a niche because it turned out to be the scheme which provided the best contrast on certain monochrome monitors, then still prevalent in corporations.  Windows 3.1 was the first version of the environment (it ran on the PC/MS/DR-DOS operating system) to attain wide corporate acceptance, whereas Windows 3.0 (1990) had tantalized while being still too unstable.  Windows 3.0 was unusual in being (apart from the short-lived 1.0) the only version of Windows released in a single version.  Although it ran in three modes: Real (on machines with only 640K RAM), Standard (requiring an 80286 CPU & 1 MB RAM) and Enhanced (requiring an 80386 CPU & 2 MB RAM), it shipped as a single product, the user with a command line switch (/r, /s or /e respectively) able to "force" the mode of choice, depending on the hardware in use.  Real mode didn't make it into Windows 3.1 and v3.11 ran exclusively as "Enhanced" so in a sense, "Enhanced" had become standard.

Microsoft's Hotdog Stand scheme didn’t survive the August 1995 transition to Windows 95 but a quarter of a century on, someone may have felt nostalgic because a buyer of a 2016 Maserati GranTurismo MC configured their car in bright yellow (Giallo Granturismo) over leather trim in red (Rosso Corallo).  As eye-catching in 2016 as Microsoft's Hotdog Stand had been in 1992, the Maserati’s recommended retail price was US$163,520.  Displayed first at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, the GranTurismo (Tipo M145) remained in production until 2019, the MC Sport Line offered between 2012-2019; it's not known how many buyers chose this color combination.  The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) wheels were all-black but on this MC were replaced with two-tone 21 & 22 inch Forgiato S201 ECL units in black and yellow on which were mounted Pirelli P Zero tyres (255/30-21 front & 315/25-22 rear).  Finishing the wheels in red and yellow might nicely have augmented the hot dog vibe but between the spokes Maserati's red brake calipers can be seen.  For the right buyer, this was the perfect package.

Juan Manuel Fangio, Maserati 250F, German Grand Prix, Nürburgring, August, 1957.

It’s drawing a long bow but the vivid combo may have be picked as a tribute to the Maserati 250F with which Juan Manuel Fangio (1911–1995) won the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, an epic drive and his most famous.  Fangio was Scuderia Alfieri Maserati’s team leader and a splash of yellow was added to the nosecone of his 250F so easily it could be identified, the color chosen because it was one of the two allocated to his native Argentina.  The 250Fs of the other team members also had nosecones painted in accordance with the original international auto racing colours standardized early in the century, American Harry Schell (1921–1960) in white and Frenchman Jean Behra (1921–1959), blue, all atop the factory’s traditional Italian red.

1981 Chevrolet Corvette: 190 horsepower. 

The 2016 Maserati GranTurismo was certainly distinctive but strange color-combos are sometimes seen although in recent decades, factories have restricted not only the ranges offered but also the way they can be combined.  The 1981 Chevrolet Corvette (above) definitely didn’t leave the assembly line in yellow & green; that season, yellow (code 52) was available but there was no green on the color chart and while two-tone paint was a US$399.00 option, the only choices were Silver/Dark Blue (code 33/38); Silver/Charcoal (code 33/39); Beige/Dark Bronze (code 50/74) & Autumn Red/Dark Claret (code 80/98).  After taking in the effect of the yellow/green combo, the camel leather trim (code 64C/642) seems anti-climatic.

2025 John Deere 9900 Self-Propelled Forage Harvester: 956 horsepower.

Modern harvesters are machines of extraordinary efficiency, one able in an hour to reap more than what would once have taken a large team of workers more than a day.  Mechanized harvesters were an early example of the way technology displaces labor at scale and because historically women were always a significant part of the harvesting workforce, they were at least as affected as men.  The development meant one machine operator and his (and they were almost exclusively men) machine could replace even dozens of workers, something which profoundly changed rural economies, the participation of the workforce engaged in agriculture and triggered the re-distribution of the population to urban settlements.  Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest innovation in technology applied to agriculture as just a one operator + machine combo replaced dozens of workers, multiple machines now go about harvesting which an AI bot handling the control and a dozen or more of these machines can be under the supervision of a single individual sitting somewhere on the planet, not so much controlling the things and monitoring for errors and problems.  Removing the on-site human involvement means it becomes possible to harvest (or otherwise work the fields) 24/7/365 without concerns about intrusions like light, the weather or toilet breaks.  Of course people remain involved to do tasks such as refueling and such but AI taking over many of these roles may be only a matter of time.

Maybe the Corvette's repaint was ordered by a fan of John Deere’s highly regarded farm equipment because JD’s agricultural products are always finished in a two-tone yellow/green (their construction equipment being black & yellow).  For the 1981 Corvette, a single engine was offered in all 50 states, a 350 cubic inch (5.7 litre) V8 designated L81 which was rated at the same 190 HP (142 kW) as the previous season’s base L48; no high-output version was now available but the L81 could be had with either a manual or automatic transmission (it would prove to be the last C3 Corvette offered with a manual).  Glumly though that drive-train might have been viewed by some who remembered the tyre-smoking machines of a decade-odd earlier, it would have pleased buyers in California because in 1980 their Corvettes received only the 305 cubic inch (5.0 litre) V8 found often in taxi-cabs, pickup trucks and station wagons; to them the L81 was an improvement.  The L81’s 180 horsepower certainly wouldn’t impress those in the market for John Deere’s 9900 Self-Propelled Forage Harvester, powered by a 1465 cubic inch (24 litre) Liebherr V12, rated at 956 HP (713 kW) (956 hp), the machine available only in the corporate two-tone yellow & green.  Like Corvettes which have tended to be quite good at their intended purpose and pretty bad at just about everything else, harvesters are specific purpose machines; one which is a model of efficiency at gathering one crop will be hopelessly inept with another and in that they differ from the human workforce which is more adaptable.  However, where there is some similarity in the plants, it can be possible for the one basic machine to be multi-purpose, the role changed by swapping the attachable device which does the actual picking or gathering.   

Joey Chestnut (b 1983) (left) and Miki Sudo (b 1986) (right) the reigning men's and women's world champions in hot dog eating.  The contest is conducted annually on 4 July, US Independence Day.

In July 2022, Mr Chestnut retained and Ms Sudo regained their titles as world champions in hot dog eating.  Mr Chestnut consumed 15 more than the runner-up so the victory was decisive although his total of 63 was short of his personal best (PB) of 76, set in 2021.  It’s his fifteenth title and he has now won all but one of the last sixteen.  Ms Sudo won her eighth championship, swallowing forty hot dogs (including the bun) in the requisite ten minutes, meaning she has now prevailed in eight of the last nine contests (in 2021 she was unable to defend her title, being with child and therefore thinking it best to avoid too many hot dogs).  That there are hot dog eating champions brings delight to some and despair to others. 

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1989; chancellor of the German Empire 1871-1890) famously observed that people "shouldn't see how laws or sausages are made".  The processes (now effectively institutionalized) which produce legislation are now more disturbing even than in the iron chancellor's gut-wrenching times but sausage production has (generally) become more hygienic.

BMW's venture into the "hotdog look", the K1.

Between 1988–1993, BMW produced almost 7,000 K1s.  It was a modest volume and lifespan but the appearance and specification were quite a departure for the company which for sixty-odd years had built its reputation with air-cooled flat twins, packaged in designs which were functionally efficient but offered few concessions to fashion.  That began to change in 1973 when the R90S appeared with a small bikini fairing in the style then favored by the “café racer” set but the rest of the machine remained in the sober Teutonic tradition, finished in a conservative silver (a more exuberant “Daytona Orange” would later be offered).  The fairings grew in size in subsequent models but never before the K1 did the factory produce anything so enveloping as was first seen at the 1988 Cologne Show, the effect heighted by the bold graphics and the choice of color schemes being blue & yellow or a hotdog-like red & yellow.  That attracted almost as much comment as the mechanical specification which used an in-line four cylinder, 987 cm³ (60 cubic inch) water-cooled engine, mounted in an unusual longitudinal arrangement with the crankshaft to the right, something which delivered a low centre of gravity and contributed to the drag coefficient (CD) of .34 (with the rider prone).

The original alternative to the hotdog, in blue & yellow, restrained by comparison.

The engineering was innovative and the K1 garnered many awards but after some initial enthusiasm sales waned and in 1991 the color scheme was not so much toned-down as re-toned, a more Germanic black metallic with silver wheels offered which was not as eye-catching but also less controversial.  That solved one aesthetic challenge but others were more fundamental, the thing too big and heavy to be a “sports bike” in the accepted sense and all that fibreglass meant things could get very hot for both components and rider, a problem the factory, with some improvised tricks, ameliorated but never wholly solved.  What couldn’t be fixed was the lack of power, BMW at the time committed to the voluntary 100 horsepower (75 kW) limit for motorcycles sold in Germany and while the industry leading aerodynamics made the machine a creditable high-speed cruiser, as a “super-bike” in the manner of the Japanese and Italian machines, it simply wasn’t competitive; fifty years on, at least on two wheels, power dynamics within the Axis had shifted.

Dogdish

Dogdish (pronounced dog-dish or dawg-dish)

(1) The dish in which a pet dog’s meals are served (probably a rare use because “dog bowl” is the more common (an accurate) descriptor.

(2) In US use, the style of simple hubcap used in the 1960s & 1970s for low-cost vehicles (especially for fleet operators such as police forces) or certain high-performance cars (including those ordered for competition use).

1940s or 1950s (in the automotive context): The word dog pre-dates the eleventh century and was from the Middle English dogge (akin to the Scots dug), from the Old English dogga & docga, of uncertain origin.  The documentary evidence from a thousand years ago is unsurprisingly scant but does suggest “dog” was used to mean something like the modern “cur” or “mutt” (ie a common or stray dog as opposed to one of good breeding), later refined to be applied to “large or stocky canines”.  The Old English dogga & docga may have been a pet-form diminutive of dog, the appended suffix -ga also used of pet frogs (frocga) and pigs (picga).  The ultimate source of dog (and the meaning) is uncertain but there may be some link with the Old English dox (dark, swarthy) or the Proto-West Germanic dugan (to be suitable), the latter the origin of the Old English dugan (to be good, worthy, useful), the English dow, the Dutch deugen and the German taugen.  It’s all speculative but the most supported theory appears to be it was likely a children’s epithet for dogs meaning something like “good creature”.  Less supported is the notion of a relationship with docce (stock, muscle), from the Proto-West Germanic dokkā (round mass, ball, muscle, doll), from which English gained dock (stumpy tail) and ultimately (in that context) docking (the removal of a tail.  In England, as late as the early fifteenth century, the common words used of domestic canines was hound, from the Old English hund while dog tended to be restricted to a sub-type resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog.  In the way English tends towards shorter forms, by the sixteenth century dog had become the general word with hound increasingly a specialist word used of hunt dogs (accounting for all those English pubs called “The fox & hounds”.  At the same time, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff although this use didn’t persist as “dog” became more generalized.  Etymologists note that despite the overlaps in form and meaning, the English word was not related to the Mbabaram dog.  Dish predated the tenth century and was from the Middle English dish & disch, from the Old English disċ (plate; bowl; dish), from the Proto-West Germanic disk (table; dish), from the Latin discus, from the Ancient Greek δίσκος (dískos) (quoit, disc, discus, dish, trencher, round mirror, reliquary, marigold).  For centuries the orthodox etymology of dískos was that it was from δίκ-σκος (dík-skos), from δικεῖν (dikeîn) (to cast) but more recent scholarship have cast doubts on this on the grounds the suffix -σκο- was rare in nominal derivation.  The alternative suggestion was δισκ- (disk-) was a variant of δικεῖν (dikeîn) (of pre-Greek origin) rather than a direct formation.  Dogdish is a noun; the noun plural is dogdishes.

The dogdish hubcap

Dogdishes (also as dog dish or dog-dish and there’s even a faction which calls them “pie pans” although the most evocative collective is “poverty caps”) are a basic, unadorned style of hubcap used with steel wheels (“steelies” to the tappet-heads).  Although some steel wheels could be stylish (notably those offered by the US manufacturers in the 1960s & 1970s and those Jaguar fitted to some E-Types (XKE) and XJs, in passenger vehicles, lighter aluminium wheels have in recent decades become the standard fitting for all but the cheapest models in a range.  However, the steel wheel possesses a number of virtues as well as being cheaper than aluminium units, notably their resistance to impact injuries and ease of repair, the latter the reason they’re still the choice for many police & commercial vehicles.  The steel wheel is inherently heavier so not the ideal choice for high performance use but their characteristics are attractive for off-road users who appreciate being able to effect repairs in remote places with little more equipment than a hammer.

1929 Mercedes-Benz 460 Nürburg (W08, 1928-1933); a Nürburg was the first "Popemobile" (supplied by the factory to Pius XI (1857–1939; pope 1922-1939) and the official car of Eugenio Pacelli (1876-1958, the future Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)) while Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (1920–1930).  The wheels were fashioned in timber and the hubcaps were of stainless steel.  Wooden wheels were by 1929 already archaic although some were still being produced as late as 1939.  Typically, hickory was favored because of its strength, flexibility and shock resistance which made it able to cope with the stresses imposed by the often rough roads of the era.

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.  During the 1930s, for various reasons (dirt protection, aerodynamics and, increasingly, aesthetics), hubcaps grew to become "wheel covers" and in the hands of US stylists in the 1950s they became an integral component of the whole design, used for product differentiation and the establishment of a model's place in the hierarchy.  Compared with the excesses which would be seen in the 1960s & 1970s, those on the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham were almost restrained.      

The origin of the hubcap was, fairly obviously, “a cap for hub”, something which dates from the age of horse-drawn carts.  Although they would later become something decorative, hubcaps began as a purely function fitting designed to ensure the hub mechanism was protected from dirt and moisture because removing a wheel when the hub was caked in mud with bolts “rusted on” could be a challenge.  In the twentieth century the practice was carried over to the automobile, initially without much change but as wheels evolved from the wooden-spoked to solid steel (and even in the 1920s some experimented with aluminium), the hubcaps became larger because the securing bolts were more widely spaced.  This meant they became a place to advertise so manufacturers added their name and before long, especially in the US, the humble hubcap evolved into the “wheel-cover”, enveloping the whole circle and they became a styling feature, designs ranging from the elegant to the garishly ornate and some were expensive: in 1984 a set of replacement “wire” wheel covers for a second generation Cadillac Seville (the so-called “bustle-back”, 1980-1985) listed at US$995.00 if ordered as a Cadillac part-number and then that was a lot of money.

1969 COPO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.  Only 69 units in this configuration were built for not only was the all-aluminium ZL1 a highly-strung engine not suited to street use, it added US$4160.15 to a V8 Camaro's base price of US$2727.00 restricting demand to those who really did want to run on drag strips.  The basic interior fittings and dogdish hubcaps saved buyers a few dollars. 

But the dogdishes persisted because police forces and other fleet operators ordered cars with them in large volumes and many thrifty private buyers opted for them too.  As the cult they are today however, the origin lies in their appearance on muscle cars during the 1960s.  Sometimes their inclusion was as a cost-cutting measure such as the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner although in 1969, when the model was made available with a triple carburetor version of the 440 cubic inch (7.2 litre) V8, even the dogdishes weren't included in the package and the cars shipped to dealer with the five chromed lug nuts exposed, the companion Dodge Super Bee also so de-contented.  Those purchasing something for competition (such as the Chevrolet Camaros fitted with 427 cubic inch (7.0 litre) engines via General Motors’ (GM) COPO (Central Office Production Order) scheme used usually for volume runs of things like vans for utility companies or police interceptors with the high-performance but not the "dress-up" options) also usually would opt for the steelie/dogdish combo.  The apparent anomaly of the high-performance Camaros running the dogdishes (already referred to as “poverty caps”) was that the buyer would anyway be fitting their own wheel/tyre combination so the vehicle was supplied ex-factory with the cheapest option.  The photographic record suggests that in truth, when new, relatively few muscle cars prowled the street with dogdishes still attached, something more stylish usually fitted at some point during ownership but they’ve become so emblematic of the era that reproductions are now available for those undertaking restorations or creating their own clone (tribute/faux/fake/replica etc); authenticity can be emulated.

1973 Maserati Bora 4.9 with the early (1971-1975) aluminium wheels fitted with "frisbee" (not dogdish) hubcaps (left), 1977 Maserati Bora 4.9 with the later (1975-1978) aluminium wheels without hubcaps (centre) and 1974 Maserati Merak 3.0 (right).

So in the US, the dogdish tended to appear on (1) the cheapest cars in a range, (2) those purchased (sometimes in the thousands) by fleet operators interested only in cost-breakdown or (3) those buying a car for racing, the wheels of which were going to be discarded immediately upon delivery.  In Europe however, things were done differently and one of history’s plainest hubcaps appeared on a top-of-the-range model: Between 1971-1975, the mid-engined Maserati Bora (Tipo AM117; 1971-1978) was equipped with removable, polished stainless steel hubcaps (which the Maserati cognoscenti call frisbees) on its 7½ x 15 inch (190.5 x 381 mm) Campagnolo aluminium wheels.  Although structurally different, the less expensive Merak (Tipo AM122; 1972-1983) used a similar body but was equipped with 2.0 & 3.0 V6 engines rather than the Bora’s 4.7 & 4.9 litre V8s, the smaller engines meaning the Merak was able to be fitted with two rear seats (most suitable for small children or contortionists).  The Merak used wheels in the same style without the frisbees and after 1975 this configuration extended to the Bora.  Rarely has there been a hubcap plainer than the those used on the Bora but anyone calling it a “poverty cap” would be shocked by the price they command as used parts; on the rare occasions they’re available, they've been listed at US$700-2000 apiece.  Unlike the Merak which was named after a star in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Bora borrowed its name from a wind which blows along the Adriatic coast, the company over the years having used the names of a number of (usually hot) winds from North Africa and the Middle East including Ghibli, Khamsin, Shamal and Karif.

Dogdish owner: Lindsay Lohan leaving a Lincoln Town Car with Chloe the Maltese (which lived to the reasonable age of 15), May 2008, New York City.  He first dog, also a Maltese, she called Gucci, the name explained by the puppy arriving simultaneously with her “first pair of Gucci boots”.  The dog promptly chewed up the boots.

Usually, in the collector market, what commands the highest price is a vehicle which left the factory fitted with the most options, the “fully-optioned” machine the most desirable (although the odd extra-cost item like an automatic transmission or a vinyl roof can detract), the dogdishes don’t deter buyers, most of who would probably admit the various styled steel wheels of the era were better looking.  In August 2024, the most highly optioned 1969 Dodge Daytona in the most desirable mechanical configuration (the 426 cubic inch (7.0 litre) Street Hemi V8 & four-speed manual transmission combination) achieved US$3.36 million at Mecum’s auction at Monterey, California.  The price was impressive but what attracted the interest of the amateur sociologists was the same Daytona in May 2022 sold for US$1.3 million when offered by Mecum at their auction held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  The US$1.3 million was at the time the highest price then paid for a Hemi Daytona (of the 503 Daytonas built, only 70 were fitted with the Hemi and of those, only 22 had the four-speed manual) and the increase in value by some 250% was obviously the result of something other than the inflation rate.

The US$3.36 million 1969 Dodge Daytona.  When new, the Daytona (and the more numerous companion "winged warrior" Plymouth Superbird) was sometimes difficult for dealers to sell, the wild body modifications not appealing to all.  Consequently, so resorted to returning them to the same visual appearance as standard Dodge Chargers.  Now, the process is reversed and a number of Chargers have been transformed into "clone" Daytonas.   

The consensus was that although the internet had made just about all markets inherently global, local factors can still influence both the buyer profile and their behaviour, especially in the hothouse environment of a live auction.  Those who frequent California’s central coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco include a demographic not typically found in the mid-west and among other distinguishing characteristics there are more rich folk, able to spend US$3.36 million on a half-century old car they’ll probably never drive.  That’s how the collector market now works.

1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda: US$410,000 in 1999; US$3.36 million in 2014, the appreciation due to (1) the supply & demand curve and (2) the largess of the US Federal Reserve.  For those wanting "the look", reproduction stainless steel dogdishes are available for US$258.00 (set of four). 

Despite the result, the green Daytona’s result wasn’t even the highest price a Chrysler product had achieved at auction, that mark set in Seattle in 2014 when one of the five four-speed manual 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles (there were another seven automatics) sold US$3.78 million.  While the outcome of such a rarity was not indicative of broader market trends (although there have been stellar performances for classic Mercedes-Benz and pre-1973 Ferraris), it did illustrate the effect of the increase in the global money supply in the wake of the GFC (Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2012) when central banks essentially not only “replaced” much of money the rich had lost gambling but gave them a healthy bonus as well.  The Hemi ‘Cuda in December 1999 had (albeit in its original, un-restored state sold at auction for US$410,000 so the successful US$3.36 million bid 14 years on was an increase of more than 800%, the sort of RoI (return on investment) which would once have impressed even Richard "Dick" Fuld (b 1946), chairman & CEO of Lehman Brothers (1850-2008).  Time however will tell if the money spent in 2014 was a good investment because when another four-speed 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible was offered for auction in 2021, despite predictions it would go for as much as US$6.5 million, it was passed-in at US$4.8 million without reaching the reserve.  The car was fitted with Chrysler’s “Rallye” wheels rather than the steelie/dogdish combo but this was not thought to be of any significance.

Mecum Auctions catalogue image of 1971 four-speed Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda convertible with 15" Rallye wheels.  Passed in on a high-bid of US$4.8 million, it'll be interesting to see if, when next offered, steelies & dogdishes are fitted.

Chocolate

Chocolate (pronounced chok-lit (U) chaw-kuh-lit, chok-uh-lit, chawk-lit)

(1) A preparation of the seeds of cacao, roasted, husked, and ground, often sweetened and flavored, as with vanilla.

(2) A beverage made by dissolving such a preparation in milk or water, served hot or cold.

(3) A sweet (sweetmeat (archaic), lolly or candy) made from such a preparation or an individual piece of this sweet.

(4) In the spectrum of commercially produced or described colors, a moderate to deep brown color.

Circa 1600: From the Mexican Spanish chocolate, from the Nahuatl (Aztecan) chocola-tl (chocolate) or cacahua-tl (chocolate, chocolate bean); the -tl meaning "water".   It’s thought the first element might be related to xocalia (to make something bitter or sour from xococ (sour; bitter)).  It was made with cold water by the Aztecs, whereas the Conquistadors mixed it with hot, hence the suggestion the European forms of the word might have been influenced by Yucatec Maya chocol (hot).  It was brought first to Spain in the 1520s and, predictably, spread quickly to the rest of Europe, gaining great popularity by the seventeenth century thought originally as drink made by dissolving chocolate in milk or water, the solid forms now familiar coming later.  The standardization in spelling must have come later because in an entry in his diary on 24 November 1664, Samuel Pepys noted “To a Coffee-house, to drink jocolatte, very good.”

There are those who contest the orthodox etymology, asserting that the Nahutal words upon which it depends didn’t exist in the language until the mid-eighteenth century.  The dissenters prefer chicolātl, a survivor in several modern Nahuatl dialects, as the original form, the chicol- element referring to the specially shaped wooden stick used to prepare chocolate.  Semi-solid forms were on sale by the 1640s in the form of a paste or cake made of ground, roasted, sweetened cacao seeds, the recognisably modern product, described as “chocolate candy" and later just “chocolate” widely available in the later nineteenth century, “chocolate milk” recorded since 1845.  Chocolate chips became available in pre-made form for the consumer market in 1940, having for some time been supplied in bulk to manufacturers for products such as chocolate chip cookies.  Use to describe a color, a dark reddish-brown, dates from 1771 in the forms “chocolate” and “chocolate-brown”.  The adjectival use in the sense of "made of or flavored with chocolate" is attested from 1723.  Although chocolatey (made of or resembling chocolate) apparently can’t be found in print before 1922 and choclatiness seems not to exist although chocolateness is used in commerce, often by specialised retailers which is a bit more imaginative than the eighteenth century “chocolate dealer” and it spawned variations such as chocorama, and chocology.  Devotees are said to be chocophiles while those who cheerfully admit an addiction are chocoholics.  The specialised occupation of chocolatier (maker of chocolate confections) was noted in French in 1865 and such jobs still exist.

In praise of dark chocolate

Made from cocoa solids, sugar and cocoa butter and without using milk, dark chocolate is rich, the degree of bitterness determined by the percentage of cocoa in the mix.  There’s no exact definition of how much cocoa needs to be present for a chocolate to be defined as dark with products available ranging from 50 to over 90%, the most popular being in the 70 to 80% range.  Nutritional content varies greatly because that’s determined by the quantities of cocoa butter and sugar used.  A 70% mix is a high-fat food, a 20g serving (six small squares in most blocks) contains just over 8g of fat, of which 5g is saturated and it’s high in sugar, with around 6g per 20g serving.  The off-set is that it’s a good source of fibre and protein, with approximately 2g of each per 20g serving.  By comparison, an 85% mix is higher in fat but lower in sugar, the protein and fibre content just a little higher and the salt content is negligible although there are variations with added sea-salt.

Lindsay Lohan slicing her chocolate birthday cake.

Although it should never be a high proportion of any diet, dark chocolate does offer some nutritional benefits, being naturally high in iron, magnesium, copper and manganese.  Iron is important in the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body while copper triggers the release of iron to form haemoglobin, the platform which contains the oxygen.  Magnesium ensures the parathyroid glands work normally to produce hormones important in bone health and helps create and activate enzymes, including those which break down food.

A long known benefit of dark chocolate is as a source of antioxidants and flavanols, helpful in maintaining vascular endothelium function (the cells that line the insides of blood vessels) which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.  Because of the density, the concentration of these phytonutrients is actually higher than in blueberries and pomegranates, fruits recommended as sources of antioxidants.  There may also be some neuro-protective effects, offering some protection against Alzheimer’s disease but the research is far from conclusive although there does seem to be a small anti-inflammatory effect which helps those with digestive conditions such as inflammatory bowel syndrome.

However, like the much-quoted, but often misunderstood, findings about the health benefits from drinking red wine, there’s nothing from any research to suggest a heavy consumption of dark or any other chocolate is anything but bad.  All the research seems to say is that if one is going to eat chocolate, dark is preferable and consumption should be no more than 20g (typically six small or two large squares, depending on the cut of the block) no more frequently than daily and only as part of a balanced diet.  As a general principle, the darker the better so a chocolate with 90% cocoa offers more benefits than one with less, remembering the flavored products (orange, caramel, raspberry et al) will be higher in sugar.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark 92% Cacao Chocolate.

Making dark chocolate is a relatively long process.  Cacao beans are picked when ripe, cleaned and left to ferment for two to nine days, using naturally present yeasts or a yeast-based starter, depending on bean and manufacturer.  The beans are then covered by banana leaves or put in wooden sweating boxes, temperature, humidity and aeration all adding to the flavor.  Once fermented, the beans are dried and roasted, using a process not greatly different from that used for coffee, this darkens them to a rich brown, enhancing the depth and complexity of the flavor and aroma.  The roasted beans are winnowed (removing the bean’s outer shell, or hull) and the inner bean (or nibs) are then ground or milled at high pressure to produce the cocoa mass (known also as chocolate liquor) and cocoa butter.

The cocoa mass and cocoa butter are then mixed with sugar, producing a paste for conching (a sequence of rolling, kneading, heating and aerating the mixture under heat until it becomes smooth and creamy).  The longer the conche, the smoother will be the chocolate so some premium products can be conched for a week whereas dark chocolate for cooking or the industrial production of food will be processed for only a few hours.  Once conched, a stabiliser such as soy lecithin is added, along with any additional flavors, such as sea salt or vanilla, after which the mix is tempered, a process in which chocolate is brought slowly to the necessary temperature before being poured into molds.  Once cooled, it’s then in its final form: stable, solid and edible.

Foodies, noting the intensity, suggest Cabernet Sauvignon works best with the darkest of dark chocolate, recommending Grenache, Malbec, Merlot, Tawny Port, Shiraz and Zinfandel for anything with a cocoa content under 75%.

There are many spreadable cheeses and those nutty and dense which combine well with chocolates up to 80%.  For the darkest strains, triple cream or blue cheeses work best but, of course, blue cheese goes with anything.

Winds of change

The noun xocolatophobia describes the exceedingly rare condition in which a patient displays an irrational or disproportionate fear of chocolate.  There are even product-specific instances of the syndrome, the authoritative PhobiaWiki listing M&Mphobia (also known as Mumuphobia and Moukaimouophobia) while noting "not much is known about this phobia".  There’s little to suggest the mental health community has devoted much attention to M&Mphobia and the condition has never appeared in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).  It’s speculated that M&Mphobia may be linked to the anthropomorphism Mars Wrigley use in their marketing material and perhaps even related to achondroplasiaphobia (fear of little people).  Mars Wrigley appears never to have addressed the issue but in early 2022 did announce a “multi-pronged approach” to "creating a world where everyone feels they belong and society is inclusive", the first innovation a makeover for each of the colorful M&M characters.  The manufacturer indicated the changes were to give each of the six characters a "fresh, modern take" on their traditional look and "more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression and power of community through storytelling."

The differences were subtle and many may not notice but the most commented upon was the green M&M trading her signature white go-go boots for a pair of "cool, laid-back sneakers to reflect her effortless confidence".  Brown, the other female M&M probably will also be breathing a sigh of relief because after strutting in stilettos since 1940, she gets a pair of more comfortable kitten-heeled pumps.  Further to empower feminist solidarity, Mars Wrigley confirmed the brown & green M&M’s combative days were over and they’re now card-carrying members of the sisterhood, “together throwing shine and not shade".  The changes were well received by some.  National Public Radio’s (NPR) political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben (b 1983) seemed pleased the green M&M had been liberated from her white boots (with all that they imply) and discussed social reproduction theory, “how patriarchy and capitalism violently reinforce each other”, and what a sexy female M&M “says about gender as a construct”.

The other M&M characters also received slight adjustments to their personalities, notably the eternally morose orange M&M who, while still hardly ebullient, has learned to "embrace his true self, worries and all".  The orange M&M’s condition should now be considered cognizant of the latest edition of the DSM (DSM-5-TR, March 2022) which introduced the diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  Details of all the changes are available on a Q&A page on the Mars Wrigley website and Cathryn Sleight (b 1964, then Chief Growth Officer at Mars Wrigley) issued an explanatory press release:

"M&M’S has long been committed to creating colorful fun for all, and this purpose serves as a more concrete commitment to what we’ve always believed as a brand: that everyone has the right to enjoy moments of happiness, and fun is the most powerful way to help people feel that they belong."

It’s not the first time the characters have been adjusted.  Between 1976-1987 the red M&M was actually banished from the packet in reaction to public disquiet about a synthetic red dye (FD&C Red No. 2, also known as amaranth) used in the industrial production of food and linked to cancer in a 1971 Russian study.  Amararanth had been much used in the US, included in products as diverse as ice-cream and hot dog casings and although tests by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) produced inconclusive results in humans, it was found the dye caused malignant tumors in female rats.  The FDA thus concluded amaranth could not be presumed safe for human consumption and in 1976 issued a ban.  Red M&Ms had never actually been colored using the agent but, aware of the controversy, the red M&M was removed from production, not returning until 1987 by which time the usual amnesia had overtaken the land.

The FDA however continued to review red dyes and in January 2025 issued a bulletin banning FD&C Red No 3 (Erythrosine) from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines sold in the US.  To permit an orderly transition, the agency set 1 January 2027 as the date by which it must be removed from food while the pharmaceutical industry was granted a further twelve months; any products imported into the US also be subject to the new edict.  In advising the new regulation the FDA noted: “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3” although it added: “Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”.  That caveat however does affect the agency’s testing protocol which is based on the “Delaney Clause” (a 1950s amendment sponsored by New York Democrat Congressman James Delaney (1901–1987)) which states the FDA cannot classify a color additive as safe if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.

Curiously, FD&C Red No. 3 has been banned from use in cosmetics (notably lipstick) for almost four decades while still being allowed in foods and ingested medications, an apparent anomaly which has seen much lobbying from groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) which organized the a petition calling in the ban and that for forty-odd years the food and pharmaceutical industries have been able to continue using the stuff is a testament to the quality (and doubtlessly the largess) of their lobbyists.  According to Food Scores (a database compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG)), some 3000 foods are known to contain Red No. 3 and the newly mandated “…consistency between what we put on our skin and what we put into our mouths” was welcomed.  It may also be an example of the anticipation the new administration which takes office on 20 January 2025 will be Trump 2.0 and not Trump 1.1, Donald Trump’s (b 1946; US president 2017-2021; president elect 2024) incoming head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr, b 1954) having already flagged he intended to follow Australia, Japan and the EU (European Union) in restricting the use of the dye to products such as leather or fabrics.  RFK Jr’s interest in the matter extends also to limiting the way highly-processed, high-sugar, “empty calorie” foods are made attractive to children, bright colors a trick the business has for decades been exploiting.  As well as the nutritional concerns, such foods have been linked with childhood obesity and behavioral issues.