By Avery Newmark, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Troy Warren for CNT

We’ve all had this moment in the grocery store, where you’re standing with an eight pack of hot dog buns and a 10 pack of hot dogs, trying to do the calculus on how many dog and bun packages will be required to make everything line up neatly.

The uneven hot dog-to-bun packaging ratio is weird, but according to the National Hot Dog Sausage Council (NHDSC), the reason isn’t as strange as you may think.

The NHDSC, which was founded in 1994, explained the mismatched packaging is because of the way these items were sold many years ago. In 1940, hot dogs began being produced in packs of 10, which is what is typically seen in stores today.

But buns are not in 10 packs because of the way they are baked, the NHDSC says. “Sandwich rolls, or hot dog buns, most often come eight to the pack because the buns are baked in clusters of four in pans designed to hold eight rolls.”

“While baking pans now come in configurations that allow baking 10 and even 12 at a time, the eight-roll pan remains the most popular.”

The increased discussion about this odd issue comes on the heels of a recent petition by Heinz Ketchup Canada to end the hot dog-to-bun packaging balance. The petition had 13,346 signatures as of Thursday, and those numbers are climbing steadily.

In case the day never comes for equal packaging, the NHDSC has provided some math. “To save you from the bread aisle arithmetic anxiety, you need to purchase five bags of eight-to-the-pack buns and four 10-to-the-pack hot dogs to break even.”

oey “Jaws” Chestnut didn’t seem affected by the packaging. He recently won his 14th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest with a world record-breaking 76 franks.

National Hot Dog Day is July 21.

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