I am not posting this because it is a good photograph, but because it is the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. How many of you have seen this big guy up close? I’ve always thought it might be fun to ride way up there, surveying Madison from the top of a hot dog, but this is as close as I’ve gotten. I occasionally see the hot dog car cruising the streets of Madison – Madison, WI is the home of Oscar Mayer.

The Weinermobile was the brainchild of Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl G. Mayer, and first made its appearance driving the streets of Chicago in 1936. The sixth generation of Weinermobiles was built in 2004 and are equipped with voice activated GPS, an audio system with a wireless microphone and a horn that the Oscar Mayer Theme Song in 21 genres, from Cajun to Bossa Nova, Classical to Rap. It also has a ceiling painted sky blue with floating, fluffy clouds. There are currently 6 of these Weinermobiles in existence, and they travel the US from coast to coast 365 days a year.

Drivers of the Wienermobiles often hand out Wienerwhistles, little toy replicas of the Wienermobile that double as whistles. I, as a proud mother of 3, have probably collected a dozen or so of these screech-y things over the years. I wonder how much monetary value is attached to a 25 year old Weinerwhistle?

If you want to see a video of the very newest Weinermobile, ABC News covered the big story Weinermobile Goes Mini Cooper in March of this year. It takes a moment to pop the story, but its fun to see the new mini-weiner. (though you’ll have to spend 30 seconds watching a coffee commercial before the featured film – sorry)