THE NATIONAL HOT DOG & SAUSAGE COUNCIL are the kings of hotdogology. Their website bulges with hot dog trivia, hot dog recipes, hot dog etiquette, hot dog photos, and tours of hot dog factories. If you weren't hungry before clicking on this site, you certainly will be after.
WHO IS THIS NATHAN GUY, ANYWAY?
NATHAN'S FAMOUS is to hot dogs what Disneyland is to amusement parks. Learn the history of the Nathan's Famous hot dog stand and the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Championship, the superbowl of competitive eating—and Shermie Thuff's pie in the sky.
THE WORLD'S LARGEST CATSUP BOTTLE OFFICIAL WEB SITE AND FAN CLUB celebrates, what else?, the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. The 170-ft. water tower is located next to Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville, Illinois.
THE MUSTARD MUSEUM OF MOUNT HOREB, WISCONSIN, has an unrivaled collection of prepared mustard from around the country, as well as hundreds of "items of great mustard historical importance."
The INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF COMPETITIVE EATING is the "league" for competitive eaters. It supervises and regulates eating contests throughout the world. The website has eating records, history of the "sport", bios of the "athletes", video clips, and full coverage of the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Championship. If you go to this site, keep a barf bag handy, because it's all about stuffing your face, big time.
WHEN FOOD FEELS LIKE THE ENEMY
The NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION is pretty much the opposite of the IFOCE. NEDA helps people deal with eating disorders like bulemia, anorexia, and bingeing and purging. Check out their web page for warning signs of eating disorders, statistics, resources for overcoming an eating disorder, and support in every way. This are good people doing important work.
DEBORAH HALVERSON wrote BIG MOUTH and another cool book for teens, HONK IF YOU HATE ME, about a quirky 16-year-old girl who hangs out in tattoo parlors and sparks a revolution that rips through fast food joints across the country. You can read excerpts of HONK IF YOU HATE ME on Deborah's web page, download book club guides and curriculum guides for all her books, and read the wild stories of Deborah's 3-year-old triplet boys on her blog www.DeborahHalverson.com/blog. And you thought the IFOCE had some crazy tales...
DOZENS OF COPIES of the novels BIG MOUTH and HONK IF YOU HATE ME have been "lost" and then found, read, then "lost" again for others to discover. On buses, in schools, at airports, in fast food joints—the books are cropping up all over! A map at this link shows where the books are being lost and found. Email updates from readers around the world tell stories of discovering the books in the strangest places.
HONK IF YOU HATE ME is cool summer reading—actually, it's hot summer reading, since there's an insane heat wave in it. Here's the jist: Everyone hates Monalisa Kent. After all, she torched the futon factory—her town’s heart, soul, and bread-and-butter. So what if she was just six at the time? The good citizens of Muessa Junction don’t forgive and forget. It’s now the tenth anniversary of the blaze. The bitter town has been resurrected through the divine intervention of the fast food industry, but there’s no absolution for Mona—Junctioners hate the sorry sight of her. And Mona doesn’t like them either, thank you very much. At sixteen she’s dyed her hair blue, found her place at the local tattoo parlor, and memorizes bumper sticker sayings instead of dealing with people. But disappearing is never easy—especially with blue hair. In Mona’s efforts to retreat, she’s forgotten the oldest bumper sticker in the book: “Running from the past is like running from a dog . . . both can bite you in the butt.” Check out this link to read an excerpt.
"ME AND MY BIG MOUTH" - A BEHIND-THE-BOOK BLOG SERIES
"ME AND MY BIG MOUTH" is an occasional, on-going blog series about the inspirations, backstories, and random stuff in BIG MOUTH. Blog posts include "The World's Biggest Food Fight" (think tomatoes...thousands of 'em!), "The Sweet, Rubbery Chew" (oh, the ecstacy that is Haribo Gold-Bear gummi bears), and "A Word from Our Sponsor" (about the commercials in BIG MOUTH).
"HONK IF YOU . . ." - A BEHIND-THE-BOOK BLOG SERIES
"HONK IF YOU . . ." HATE ME is an occasional, on-going blog series about the inspirations, backstories, and random stuff in the novel HONK IF YOU HATE ME. Blog posts include "Honk If You Love Futons," "Honk If You Love Holes in the Ground," "Honk If You Love Men in Tights," and "Honk If You Think Pepsi Kicks Butt."
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