Hot dog enthusiasts really want their own emoji

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Finally, someone is speaking up for the hot dogs.

Laura Ustick of Wheeling, Ill., was so upset when she discovered that no hot dog emoji exists, she did what any reasonable person would do: She started a petition, begging President Barack Obama and early emoji creator Shigetaka Kurita to join forces to create one (there are nearly 300 signatories so far). "People are demanding a hot dog emoji," Ustick, the general manager of the Superdawg Drive-In, told The Wall Street Journal. "It's a slight against the hot dog community."

So Ustick is harnessing the power of social media to attempt to right this wrong, spreading memes like "May the #HotDogEmoji Be With You." She has the 25 other members of the Hot Dog Emoji Coalition standing behind her, in addition to her customers. "It kind of hurts your feelings that the hot dog emoji is not here," Tika Johnson told The Wall Street Journal. "You cannot have a real text without emoji." Who knew hot dog lovers were such a sensitive bunch?