10 historical facts about Nathan's Famous hot dogs

If you've ever bitten into a Nathan's Famous hot dog, whether from the grocery store or one of the Nathan's Famous restaurants, you have probably enjoyed it. But did you know there's more to Nathan's Famous than just good hot dogs? There's history than goes back nearly a century.

1. Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant to the United States, started the first Nathan's Famous hot dog stand in Coney Island, New York, in 1916 with the help of his wife, Ida.
2. That original hot dog stand is still open to this very day.
3. Originally, Nathan's Famous hot dogs only cost a nickel. Before going into business for himself, Handewerker had worked for another hot dog vendor who had sold hot dogs for a dime apiece.
4. In 1939, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt served Nathan's Famous hot dogs to the visiting King George VI and the Queen consort Elizabeth of England.
5. Nathan's Famous sells hot dogs in more than 20,00 restaurants and stores combined.
6. The Handewerker family has not been directly tied to the company since 1993 when the founders grandson, Bill Handwerker, left the company.
7. A Nathan's Famous stand was destroyed on September 11, 2001, during the collapse of Two World Trade Center.
8. An episode of the Seinfeld television show was about a trip to the original Nathan's Famous stand.
9. Barbara Streisand once had this company's hot dogs shipped to London for a party.
10. The late actor Walter Mathau had Nathan's Famous hot dogs served at his funeral.