Wieners

For about three months, I was a wiener, and by extension I like to think I'm an honorary wiener- a junior-varsity wiener. A wannabe wiener, if you will.

Being the immature young man I am, I giggle after each execution of the word "wiener." In American culture wiener has come to describe many things- it's primarily known as a pseudonym for sausage or hot dog, or something one might call a man of weak or compromised confidence. It's also used to describe a number of other things which span beyond the scope of this blog and extends past my desire to elaborate on their childish nature. Americans have come to use wiener in a variety of contexts, with the exception of its proper one.

A Wiener is someone from Vienna- a male from Vienna, to be more specific (the -er at the end of the word denotes the sex of the pronoun) and can also be used to describe something Viennese in nature- such as Wiener Schnitzel. Vienna stands as the capital of Austria- the one without kangaroos. The region in general has been occupied for upwards of 2500 years, first colonized by the Romans- of course it had a different name at the time. After the Napoleonic wars in 1804, Vienna became the capital of Austria-Hungary, (now Austria and Hungary, respectively) and has held this position since.

The denizens of this historic city aren't hot dogs- they're people. The word itself is something to laugh about- in modern society it's taken on various ridiculous meanings, but at the heart of the word lies much more than processed meat products- rather there stands a wealth of history and beauty.