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Sandwiches have influenced everything from Art to Music, but who would have imagined it also impacted Math. One of the most popular theorems actually involves the equal cutting of a Ham Sandwich!
The Theorem
Basically, the Ham-Sandwich Theorem states that given globs of ham, bread, and cheese (in any shape), placed any way you like, there exists one flat slice of a knife (a plane) that will bisect each of the ham, bread, and cheese.4
Below is the technical description of the Ham-Sandwich Theorem.
In mathematical measure theory, for every positive integer n the ham sandwich theorem states that given n measurable "objects" in n-dimensional Euclidean space, it is possible to divide all of them in half (with respect to their measure, e.g. volume) with a single (n − 1)-dimensional hyperplane. The ham sandwich theorem takes its name from the case when n = 3 and the three objects to be bisected are the ingredients of a ham sandwich.5
Here is a more generic explanation and quote from the SolidWorks website:
"With the weather finally improving after a barrage of Nor’easter storms, it’s time to break out those picnic baskets and have some sandwiches! But what if you want to share a sandwich with someone? Cutting a sandwich may sound like the most mundane task, but only if the sandwich was made neatly. What if the sandwich was jumbled around as you carried it in your basket? The parts slide against each other, making it difficult to ensure a cut that gives each person equal parts of each ingredient. But as I will show you, it is not impossible!"
"The question that follows: Does a cut that divides a sandwich into two equal parts exist? The funny thing is, it depends on the number of ingredients the sandwich has. For sandwiches that have four or more parts that cut could exist, but it is not guaranteed to exist, as most people would expect. But for a sandwich with three parts, that solution is guaranteed to exist. Even if your ingredients are lopsided and you are the worst sandwich maker in the world, you can still cut your terrible sandwich perfectly in half." 3
Here is video describing the Ham-Sandwich Theorem in more detail. It is Episode 29 of Algebraic Topology from Roman Sauer. He actually makes a sandwich to explain it better.
References
1. Wolfram (https://mathworld.wolfram.com/HamSandwichTheorem.html)
2. Courant, R. and Robbins, H. What Is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1978.
3. The Ham Sandwich Theorem in SOLIDWORKS (https://www.design-point.com/resource/blog/ham-sandwich-theorem-solidworks/)
4. Math Fun Facts (https://math.hmc.edu/funfacts/ham-sandwich-theorem/)
5. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_sandwich_theorem)
Celebrated on May 5th. Once again, National Hoagie Day seems like a holiday for restaurant promotions. It's even more confusing because "National Eat A Hoagie Day" is on September 14th. So, it appears that there are two different holidays for the same sandwich. The origins of the holiday are unknown.
What is a Hoagie?
Wikipedia defines a Hoagie as a Submarine Sandwich, "A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub (North American English), hoagie (Philadelphia metropolitan area and Western Pennsylvania English), hero (New York City English), Italian sandwich (Maine English) or grinder (New England English), is a type of cold or hot sandwich made from a cylindrical bread roll split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. It has many different names."
However, there are many who claim a Hoagie is clearly a different size, while others claim that it's made differently. It's really all quite confusing.
Here is the best definition we could find, "With a sub, the bread is a softer roll cut all the way through and the top is separated from the bottom of the roll. With a hoagie, a harder roll is preferred and the roll is split and the contents (generally the same) are stuffed into the roll and folded closed at the completion."
When Is National Hoagie Day?
Sometimes it is difficult to remember this special Sandwich Holiday, so we have created a table that lists every National Hoagie Day for the next 25 years!
National Hoagie Day Dates (for the next 25 years)
| # | Year | Date | Holiday | Sandwich Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | May 5th, 2021 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 2 | 2022 | May 5th, 2022 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 3 | 2023 | May 5th, 2023 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 4 | 2024 | May 5th, 2024 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 5 | 2025 | May 5th, 2025 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 6 | 2026 | May 5th, 2026 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 7 | 2027 | May 5th, 2027 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 8 | 2028 | May 5th, 2028 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 9 | 2029 | May 5th, 2029 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 10 | 2030 | May 5th, 2030 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 11 | 2031 | May 5th, 2031 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 12 | 2032 | May 5th, 2032 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 13 | 2033 | May 5th, 2033 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 14 | 2034 | May 5th, 2034 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 15 | 2035 | May 5th, 2035 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 16 | 2036 | May 5th, 2036 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 17 | 2037 | May 5th, 2037 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 18 | 2038 | May 5th, 2038 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 19 | 2039 | May 5th, 2039 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 20 | 2040 | May 5th, 2040 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 21 | 2041 | May 5th, 2041 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 22 | 2042 | May 5th, 2042 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 23 | 2043 | May 5th, 2043 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 24 | 2044 | May 5th, 2044 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
| 25 | 2045 | May 5th, 2045 | National Hoagie Day | Hoagie |
Ever since I purchased the Waffle Burger at my friend's local breakfast shop, I have been haunted by one question. Can a Waffle Burger be considered a Sandwich?
It seems like the answer is fairly obvious, but we decided to examine this issue further. Before we continue, let's review our previous definition of a sandwich.
Defintion of a Sandwich
A Sandwich is an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with a filling between them, eaten as a light meal.3
Well, that seems pretty clear, the outer sides of the sandwich must be pieces of bread. So, the question is whether a Waffle is part of the Bread family. We Googled some more and the results are below.
Waffle is Part of the Bread Family
Pancakes are part of the original group of flat, quick-breads. For thousands of years people made flat ground wheat, nut or non-wheat cakes without leavening. The origin of the American pancakes and waffles can be traced back to 17th century Dutch settlers, and were called pannekoeken and stroopwafels. So popular in Colonial days, pancakes were often flavored with pumpkin or spices and, waffles were popular at holidays.1
Pancakes and waffles are bread, the type known as ‘quick breads’ - bread leavened with baking soda or baking powder. Waffles are almost identical to pancakes, only having a little more fat in the batter, and cooked on a grid shaped pan (waffle maker). So, pancakes and waffles are bread (being quick breads), and they are cooked on a griddle or pan (as are flat breads such as tortillas).2
Answer to the Question
YES, a waffle burger can be considered a Sandwich. Since waffles are considered "quick breads", then it can be used in place of traditional breads.
Whew... that's a ton of weight off my mind.
References
1. Crafty Baking (https://www.craftybaking.com/learn/baked-goods/quick-breads/types/pancakes-and-waffles)
2. Quora (https://www.quora.com/Are-pancakes-and-waffles-considered-bread)
3. Oxford (2020) https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sandwich
Celebrated during the month of May. In terms of celebrations, National Hamburger Month seems to be another restaurant promotional tool, which was created by White Castle in 1993. This actually makes sense because they say May is the busiest grilling and barbecuing month of the year, so people have hamburgers on their mind.
What is the origin of the hamburger?
It's been said the ancient Egyptions ate ground meat several thousand years ago, however, the current hamburger as we know it came from either Germany or America a hundred years ago.
What is the purpose of National Hamburger Month?
Getting back to the topic at hand, National Hamburger Month seems to be another way for restaurants to offer special Hamburger deals and promotions every May. We prefer National "Hamburger Charlie" Day ourselves, since it celebrates the actual birth of the hamburger. On a side note, the world's largest hamburger parade is in Seymour, Wisconsin, every year in August.
When is National Hamburger Month?
Sometimes it is difficult to remember this special Sandwich Holiday, so we have created a table that lists every National Hamburger Month for the next 25 years!
National Hamburger Month Dates (for the next 25 years)
| # | Year | Celebrated | Holiday | Sandwich Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | May, 2021 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 2 | 2022 | May, 2022 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 3 | 2023 | May, 2023 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 4 | 2024 | May, 2024 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 5 | 2025 | May, 2025 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 6 | 2026 | May, 2026 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 7 | 2027 | May, 2027 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 8 | 2028 | May, 2028 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 9 | 2029 | May, 2029 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 10 | 2030 | May, 2030 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 11 | 2031 | May, 2031 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 12 | 2032 | May, 2032 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 13 | 2033 | May, 2033 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 14 | 2034 | May, 2034 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 15 | 2035 | May, 2035 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 16 | 2036 | May, 2036 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 17 | 2037 | May, 2037 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 18 | 2038 | May, 2038 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 19 | 2039 | May, 2039 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 20 | 2040 | May, 2040 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 21 | 2041 | May, 2041 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 22 | 2042 | May, 2042 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 23 | 2043 | May, 2043 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 24 | 2044 | May, 2044 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
| 25 | 2045 | May, 2045 | National Hamburger Month | Hamburger |
As a fan of Irish music, whenever a new Irish Band appears on my radar, I always take an active interest. Naturally, since this site's about sandwiches, learning HamsandwicH was from Ireland made my head explode. However, putting the sandwich connection aside, some of their songs are really amazing.
Who is HamsandwicH?
Currently, they only have three members, Niamh Farrell, Podge McNamee, and Brian Darcy. The band hails from Kells, County Meath in Ireland, and have a large fan base there.
The band originally consisted of Niamh Farrell (vocals), Podge McNamee (vocals and guitar), Brian Darcy (guitar and piano), and Ollie Murphy (drums), while adding David McEnroe (bass) later on. However, Ollie Murphy and David McEnroe left the group in 2019 and 2017, respectively.
They've had three albums, Carry The Meek (2008), White Fox (2010), and Stories From The Surface (2015), and are supposedly working on a new one. They've already released a few singles since then; and we're looking forward to even more.
After listening to HamsandwicH's full body of work, we could feel our heads about to explode! We're shared a couple of those songs down below.
Music Videos
Here are two songs that we really liked, "Illuminate" and "Fandago".
Illuminate by HamsandwicH (2014)
Fandango by HamsandwicH (2015)
We will find out more about Ham SandwicH in the future.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think the Super Mexican Calzone from Domino's would burn the tip of my tongue, and yet to my great surprise, it did. If you like spicy, mexican flavored calzones, then this is the perfect sandwich for you.
As for the Domino's shop that I visited in Hsinchu, Taiwan, I have to give it two thumbs up. They are really friendly, and in the past, they even made me things that weren't on the menu. For example, Domino's used to have melted cheese pastries, which was taken off the menu a year ago, but they still make them for me.
Okay, here is the big question... Would I eat the Super Mexican Calzone from Domino's as my last sandwich? NO!!
But, in Domino's defense, I have never liked super spicy sandwiches, so it's not exactly my forte.
However, if you like friendly service, a clean environment, and super spicy calzones, then this is the perfect place for you!
Subcategories
Sandwich Reviews Article Count: 15
These are reviews of restaurants and cafes' that specialize in good sandwiches.
Sandwich Rock Article Count: 48
These are random thoughts we have about the general state of Sandwiches and Life. How do sandwiches impact our culture and society? Here, we examine how sandwiches have permeated every aspect of this place we call Earth.
Sandwich Sports Article Count: 10
Welcome to Sandwich Sports, where athletes from around the world participate in the sport of competitive sandwich eating.
Sandwich Holidays Article Count: 30
Sandwich Holidays Around The World
Sandwich Culture Article Count: 9
This is about how Sandwiches influence History, Art, and Culture.
The Last Sandwich Article Count: 9
These are articles about people who discuss their last sandwich and what makes it special for them. This is the Philosophy of Sandwiches.