July 6 Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Franz Bakery workers maneuver the world's longest hot dog bun across the NE 12th Ave. in Portland on July 6, 2006. The bun, along with a wiener supplied by Hill Meat Co. of Pendleton, Ore., measured 104 feet, 9 1/2 inches, decimating the previous record of 57 feet, 6 inches. It was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the bakery.

To bake such a long bun, Franz Bakery had to close a block of NE 12th Ave. and remove a window from their building. A special, linking pan was created for the bun. The first end of the bun was baked before the back end was even in the oven.

(left) Rob Zimmerman, a production manager at the bakery in Portland, Ore., carefully cuts the bun. The record would not have counted if he had broken the bun.



(right) Ken Waltos, vice president of purchasing for Franz Bakery, makes the official measurement. The record was not to stand for long, though—about a month later, apparently a group in Japan made one about 50 m long—around 160 feet! (Just three years ago, the record was a mere 16 feet.)