Mildly interesting
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Meanwhile in Spain, one community raises alms for the poor:
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The Hot Dogs Were So Addictive They Had to Be BANNED from Helen Keller’s House
Helen Keller is remembered as one of the most extraordinary figures of the modern world. Deaf and blind from a young age, she became a prolific author, a tireless activist, and a global lecturer who spoke fiercely against war, inequality, and capitalist injustice. But behind the public icon was a woman with a very simple, very human weakness. She loved hot dogs.
Despite traveling the world and dining in countless countries, Keller’s favorite protein was reportedly the humble American hot dog. According to accounts preserved by the Helen Keller Foundation, she preferred them topped with mustard and relish. No record survives of her stance on ketchup, a mystery that will likely never be resolved. What is clear is that she adored them with enthusiasm.
Her love for hot dogs became such a problem that her longtime secretary and companion, Polly Thomson, eventually banned them from their home altogether. Thomson worried that if allowed, Keller would eat nothing else. It was not a symbolic ban. It was a practical intervention against culinary obsession.
After Thomson’s death in 1960, Keller’s new assistant, Winifred Corbally, took a different approach. Rather than restricting her employer’s cravings, she embraced them. Corbally frequently took Keller to hot dog stands, indulging her favorite food without guilt or restraint. Keller reportedly had one request she repeated often. “Don’t forget the mustard.”
