Random musings: The (hot) dog days of summer

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The (hot) dog days of summer

What are the dog days of summer and what do hot dogs have to do with them?

According to Farmer's Almanac:

The phrase is actually a reference to the fact that, during this time, the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. This is why Sirius is sometimes called the Dog Star.

In the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun. On July 23rd, specifically, it is in conjunction with the Sun, and because the star is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it actually gave off heat and added to the Sun’s warmth, accounting for the long stretch of sultry weather. They referred to this time as diēs caniculārēs, or “dog days.”

Thus, the term Dog Days of Summer came to mean the 20 days before and 20 days after this alignment of Sirius with the Sun—July 3 to Aug. 11.

Well, now we know about dog days but what about hot dogs? I'm glad you asked because not only is today Hot Dog Day, but tomorrow is Chili Dog Day!

I asked for recommendations for hot dogs and chili dogs in Modesto on Nextdoor and I got a few replies. One person recommended Graffiti Dogs and another had heard that they're good and most of the reviews on Yelp are 5 stars. However, 2 people from Nextdoor said they wouldn't eat there again...so I'm not sure about this one yet. Another popular choice was Main Street Footers in Turlock. Again, mostly 5 star reviews on Yelp. Although, Footers is a little out of the way for a work day...it's about 12 miles in the opposite direction from work. I may try Graffiti Dogs, or I may go with my current favorite, Kasper's. However, their Yelp ratings are all over the place, but they ended up at 3.5 stars. Most of the 1 star ratings were because they were closed during what were supposed to be normal business hours. I had noticed that a couple of times myself, but they were open the last time I went.

Here's an interesting take on chili cheese dogs...the Chili Cheese Dog Bake. I'll definitely have to try this one!