I'm going to share a secret with you and you're either going to hate me for it or love me for it. There will be no middle ground. There will be no, "Hmmm...maybe that would taste good." You will instantly love the idea I'm about to give you or you will gag.

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While no one is 100 percent positive how exactly the hot dog as America knows it came to be in this country but there's some pretty solid evidence that our love affair began in the mid 1860s and that German immigrants played a big role in what is one of the most popular foods in the United States today.

According to The Culture Trip, it was a German immigrant food truck operator in New York City who introduced us to a food called “dachshund sausages” and then in 1870 another German immigrant opened the first ever hot dog stand on Coney Island. At the time that hot dogs were being sold on Coney Island, they were served with no bun. The Culture Trip claims it was a food vendor in Chicago in 1880 who began the practice of serving his hot dogs on a bun.

For over 150 years, Americans have been scarfing down hot dogs. We've had them on a bun, with no bun. We've had them boiled, grilled, fried, even microwaved. We've slathered ketchup on them, mustard, and sometimes relish. But, one main staple condiment that can be found in the refrigerator of most American homes has sadly been neglected in recent years as a hot dog topping even though it's been right there staring at us all along: mayonnaise.

Hold on, hear me out!

I feel like it's less common these days to hear someone say that they slather their hotdog with mayonnaise but it hasn't always been that way. Just one measly decade ago, people told YouGovAmerica that they enjoyed mayonnaise on their hot dog. Actually, 48 percent of people said they liked it and in my book, 48 percent is close enough to 50 percent for us to say that half of people in 2011 liked to put mayonnaise on their hot dog.

So what do you say? Can we go back 10 years to a simpler time when we were just learning about smart homes, the craft beer industry was still in its infant stages, and people enjoyed simple and tasty pleasures like topping their hot dogs with mayonnaise?

By the way, while there's nothing wrong with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, or even relish (although definitely not my choice), there are some other fun and tasty ways to dress up your hot dog that I thought you might like to see.

Gourmet Hot Dogs You Can Make At Home

Where To Grab a Hot Dog in the Twin Tiers

Four Super Important Grilling Safety Tips

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