IS A hot dog a sandwich?

It's a debate that is dividing parts of the US after the superpower celebrated National Sandwich Day.

Some attempted to celebrate by having a hot dog, which spurred the discussion - is that even a sandwich?

According to the history of the hot dog, the first known hot dog was simply a "sausage sandwich" created by Charles Feltman who started the first Coney Island hot dog stand in New York's Brooklyn.

And if you assume that a hamburger and a sub (think Subway) are both considered sandwiches in the US, then surely a sausage inside a pre-cooked bread roll counts as a sandwich right?

Not so says the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council - no that is not a joke.

It put out a statement on Friday to state that the hot dog is not a sandwich but "an exclamation of joy" and "truly a category unto its own".

Hot Dog council's Janet Riley said, "Limiting the hot dog's significance by saying it's 'just a sandwich' is like calling the Dalai Lama 'just a guy'."

"We therefore choose to take a cue from a great performer and declare our namesake be a "hot dog formerly known as a sandwich."

The US Department of Agriculture also suggests the hot dog to be a sandwich.

The debate has now gone viral after it landed on the frontpage of Reddit.

Some of the discussion on reddit so far:

We're in for a long night.