World's longest hot dog facts for kids

This amazing hot dog was 60 meters long! It set a record in 2006.

Have you ever wondered how long the longest hot dog in the world could be? It's a real world record that people have been trying to beat since at least 2001! The current record holder is a giant hot dog made in Paraguay in July 2011. This super-long hot dog stretched out to an incredible 203.8 meters (about 669 feet)! That's longer than two football fields!

The Race for the Longest Hot Dog

Over the years, many groups have tried to make the world's longest hot dog. Here are some of the past record holders:

• In 2001, a hot dog and its bun, measuring 4.65 meters (about 15 feet), were made in Pennsylvania, USA.
• On August 18, 2002, students from Radford University in Virginia, USA, made a hot dog that was 22 feet, 8 inches long.
• In South Africa, on October 18, 2003, students from the University of Pretoria created a hot dog and bun that reached 37 feet, 2 inches (about 11.3 meters).
• On July 1, 2004, for the Taste of Chicago festival, Vienna Beef and Rosen's Bakery made a hot dog and bun that were 37.2 feet (about 11.3 meters) long. The bun alone used over 200,000 poppy seeds!
• Jamie Coyne made a 50-foot, 7-inch (about 15.4 meters) hot dog and bun in Columbus, Ohio, USA, on July 15, 2005.
• Just a month later, on August 14, 2005, a hot dog and bun measuring 57.5 feet (about 17.5 meters) were made in Bally, USA.
• On February 20, 2006, in Perth, Australia, a hot dog and bun reached 20 meters (about 65.6 feet). It took 25 pounds of sausage meat and 33 kilograms of dough!
• On July 6, 2006, a hot dog and bun measuring 104.75 feet (about 31.9 meters) were made in the USA.
• On August 4, 2006, in Tokyo, Japan, a hot dog measuring 60 meters (about 197 feet) was made. Its bun was slightly longer at 60.3 meters. This huge hot dog was cooked and then eaten by everyone there.
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  This hot dog was a record holder in 2005.
• The current record was set on July 15, 2011, in Asuncion, Paraguay. A company named Ochsi made a hot dog that was 203.8 meters (about 669 feet) long! It weighed about 120 kilograms (265 pounds). The bun, made by Myriam Products, weighed about 150 kilograms (330 pounds). This giant hot dog was also cut up and shared with the crowd.

Other Super Long Hot Dogs

Some other groups have tried to make very long hot dogs, but their attempts didn't count as official world records:

• In October 2017, in Flensburg, Germany, a group made a U-shaped hot dog that was 218.7 meters (about 717 feet) long. However, it was made of many pieces of bread and sausage, not one continuous piece. So, it didn't count as a new record.
• In Chile, the city of Talca made an unofficial attempt with their version of a hot dog called a completo. They lined up 2,400 completos in a row, reaching over 450 meters (about 1,476 feet)!

The Tricky Part: Making the Bun

Making a super-long hot dog sausage is actually not that hard. The sausage is strong and flexible. For the 2006 record, the hot dog was simply wound up in a big plastic barrel and moved in a delivery van.

The real challenge is making the bun! The bun needs to be baked in one long, continuous piece. For the Japanese record, they used the longest conveyor belt they could find.

How They Baked the Bun

Bakers put together dough in half-meter sections. They pressed these sections together to make one long tube of dough. This long dough tube then moved through ovens on a conveyor belt. Another conveyor belt carried the cooked bun away from the ovens.

It was very important that the cooked bun didn't move faster than the dough still being baked. If it did, the bun would pull apart! The hot dog sausage was also fed through the oven at the same time to cook it.

Space for the Giant Bun

They also needed a lot of space outside the oven to hold the bun and hot dog as they came out. For the 2006 record, the ovens were set up on a loading dock outside the Akasaka Prince Hotel. The bun and hot dog were fed into the hotel ballroom as they finished baking.

Serving the Record-Breaking Hot Dog

Once the bun was ready, bakers sliced it down the middle. Spectators put on gloves and helped lift the hot dog into the bun for photos. Then, they added mustard and ketchup. Everyone lifted the completed hot dog about 30 centimeters (12 inches) off the conveyor for more pictures.

Finally, the official measurement was taken. The hot dog was 60 meters long, and the bun was 60.3 meters long. After all the photos and videos, the hot dog was cut into pieces. Everyone present got to enjoy a piece of the record-breaking hot dog!