The most polarizing question of our century has been whether or not a hot dog is actually a sandwich. From the heated presidential debates last fall to daily conversations, the topic of what exactly a hot dog is has dominated headlines recently. Both sides have convincing cases, but alas, there is a reason that society has failed to come to a solid conclusion.

Oxford Dictionary defines a sandwich as “An item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with a filling between them, eaten as a light meal,” which leaves a bit of wiggle room for debate to occur. Those who claim that a hot dog is a sandwich will claim that it fits both qualifications, it has two pieces of bread and a wiener in between. On top of that, you can certainty add various condiments such as ketchup or relish, much like any other sandwich. The meat may be shaped differently, but ultimately many consider it just a slightly deformed sandwich.

So why is this such a heated topic? First, the notion that a hot dog bun isn’t exactly two pieces of bread. While you can separate the bun into two pieces, that is not how a hot dog was meant to be eaten which opens the door to a thousand more possibilities. For the sake of argument, we’re going to assume you eat your hot dogs like a civilized human being. So now a hot dog bun doesn’t satisfy the prerequisite of two pieces of bread, as it is only one piece of bread with a hinge. On top of that, hot dogs are not categorized with other sandwiches. For example, you’ll rarely see a hot dog at a sandwich shop, in the same vein that you’re unlikely to find a BLT sold at baseball park.

For those reasons, I believe that a hot dog is NOT a sandwich; it is a hot dog. The world must appreciate the hot dog for what it is, not a sandwich.