The Popcorn Stand: With corn dogs and smores, we must be the greatest

Maybe we are the greatest country in the world. Food we take for granted in this country are complete mysteries to people from the rest of the world.

Like corn dogs. Corn dogs? Anyone who chooses to read this Popcorn Stand knows I think there’s nothing like a good corn dog lathered in mustard. But many people from around the world don’t know exactly what a corn dog is. I mean they’ve seen them on TV, but never actually had one.

That’s why corn dogs were among the most popular foods in a survey conducted by Redditor vitalogy95. It posed the question to non-Americans: “People not from the USA, what ‘American’ food are you most interested in trying?”

Up there with corn dogs are smores, the wonderful gooey graham crackers with marshmallows and Hershey (got to be Hershey) chocolate. “Smores. What on earth are smores? I know I could google it, but then I’d know. Where would be the fun in that?” one non-American responded in the survey.

That response did remind me of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, “The Sandlot” when Ham offers Smalls a smore. “Some more what?” Smalls says. “You’re killing me, Smalls,” Ham replies.

Well these non-Americans are killing me. Another food many non-Americans apparently don’t know about is green bean casserole. Many non-Americans are interested in green bean casserole which has become an American holiday tradition along with what we eat for Thanksgiving in general: turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, all of it.

Non-Americans are also generally interested in food at our state fairs. As one non-American put it: “I want to go to an American state fair and eat everything in sight.”

So here’s to deep-fried Oreos, funnel cake...

and corn dogs. As Yogi said, “Only in America.”

— Charles Whisnand