Determine If a Hot Dog Is a Sandwich by the Cube Rule
I love hot dogs, but I never really cared much about their taxonomy. In fact, I completely gave up the question “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” discourse, flatly refusing to form an opinion in any way. But words mean things, and I understand the desire to bring meaning and order to this chaotic existence in any way possible.
You may have thought you saw this debate from every angle – even New York State took it into account – but the Cube Eating Rule gives a fresh perspective on foods by defining foods based on their starch position.
It all starts wisely enough – from one starch at the base it makes food “toast”, from the additional starch on top it makes something like a sandwich, and the base plus two parallel walls means that you are dealing with a taco (which means a hot dog is a taco) … But then you move on to the fourth image and realize that this table is trying to classify enchilada as sushi. Things get even crazier (and intentionally contradictory) when you go to cuberule.com , where nigiri sushi (a piece of raw fish on top of rice) is called “toast.” It’s almost as if this rule weren’t helpful.
Verdict: The cube rule isn’t good for identifying food, but it’s a trick because it makes it futile to try to fit things into neat little boxes (or cubes). Being technically correct isn’t always helpful, and pedantry rarely makes friends. Just like you would never suggest going for enchiladas to satisfy your sushi cravings, you probably wouldn’t offer hot dogs if someone said they wanted a sandwich. It doesn’t matter if the hot dog is a sandwich; a hot dog is good. And that, I think, is all we need to know.