In commemoration of yet another redundant meat holiday dedicated to another favorite American food, let’s salute the hotdog (and vegan dog!) together. Since July is National Hotdog Month, why not eat one just the way you like it—sauerkraut? mustard? beans and franks? cut up with little legs like an octopus, the way my husband makes it?—while you read over these facts about everyone’s favorite ballpark food. (Well… most people’s favorite. I like the cheese pretzels, myself.)

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that over 7 billion hotdogs will be consumed by Americans between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year—with 155 million eaten alone during July 4^th weekend.

Do you think these record numbers are because everybody’s really digging hotdogs this year, or because so many people are broke?

Americans eat an average of 60 hotdogs each every year. Hotdogs are officially made out of “specially selected meat trimmings,” which pretty much means a bit of everything. By law, it’s supposed to be composed of meat muscle, but it can contain up to 3.5% of non-meat ingredients.

What do you think—bits of rats and/or their feces? If so, why not? They end up in our grain products anyway. (Actually, it’s usually composed of some kind of milk or soy product to add a little nutritional value.)

Did you know that the traditional casings that hotdogs were packaged in were actual animal intestines? Though most supermarkets use cellulose these days, some still use the innards for packaging.

Sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan is credited with giving the hotdog its name. In 1901, while he was at a baseball game, he heard vendors calling out, “Get your dachshund [1] sausages!” He decided to use it as fodder for his cartoon, but since he couldn’t spell dachshund, he wrote “hot dogs.”

What’s your favorite condiment to use on a hotdog? If you choose mustard, you’ve chosen the most popular condiment for hotdogs in the country. Kids, of course, prefer ketchup, and preferences do vary depending on region as well. for example, while New York hotdogs usually come with onions, Chicago-style can include relish, tomato, and heaps of other toppings.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says the best way to put your condiments on are by “dressing the dog.” To do this, apply the wet stuff first (like ketchup), followed by chunky toppings such as vegetables, and finish with cheese and spices if you want them.