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In eleventh grade I got into a "discussion" with my English teacher that resulted in my appearance in the principal's office. The teacher insisted on failing me on a composition because I had split an infinitive (to her way of thinking it was the mark of bad breeding.) Support for my position such as "English is Germantic in structure and not Latin based." did not sway her. The principal listened to both sides of the "discussion", read the paper in question, and regraded it. (It turns out that he was a former English teacher.) My grade went from an "F" to an "A" and I was reassigned to another English class for the rest of the year.
As for the "hot dog" story, mostly that is what I have also heard. They were introduced at Coney Island (a beach in New York City that was popular in the summer and at the end of a street car line so everyone in the city could go there.) One newspaper sketch artist published a drawing of a dachshund in a large bun and the term took off. It had many properties to recommend it: it was easy to remember, quick to say, unique, and identified a specific item.
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