We can probably attribute the saying “a fool and his money are soon parted” to the rise of specialty products touting incredible health benefits—albeit providing dubious scientific evidence. It’s also probably why Whole Foods thought it could get away with selling “asparagus water” to consumers a few years ago for six bucks a pop. [Narrator voice: it couldn’t.]
But if you thought asparagus water was silly, feast your eyes on the latest novelty water to capture the attention of the internet: hot dog water!
Bottles of the stuff were spotted at a Car Free Day festival booth in Vancouver last weekend, for the low-low price of $37.99 a pop, or two bottles for just $75.
The booth also sold lip balm, breath spray, and fragrances, which along with the hot dog water claimed to be gluten-free and Keto diet-compatible/ The ware boasted benefits such as weight loss, increased brain functionality, anti-aging, and increased vitality.
https://twitter.com/moebius_strip/status/1008478468672184321
As it turns out, the stunt was actually the brainchild of performance artist (and self-proclaimed Hot Dog Water CEO) Douglas Bevans, who put forth $1,200 of his own money on the art project, hoping to make a statement about shady health marketing practices.
“From the responses, I think people will actually go away and reconsider some of these other $80 bottles of water that will come out that are ‘raw’ or ‘smart waters,’ or anything that doesn’t have any substantial scientific backing but just a lot of pretty impressive marketing.”
Lest you think this big reveal would stop people from shelling out $38 for a bottle of water with a hot dog floating in it, well, you have greatly overestimated the human race. “They’ve been drinking it for hours,” Bevans told the Global News, adding that the booth had sold about 60 litres.
Stunt or not, the concept of hot dog water definitely captured the fascination (and gag reflex) of the internet:
Story: This "Hot Dog Water" sells for $37.99 a bottle: https://t.co/bTeVmg3B0k
— Allison Croghan (@AllisonCroghan) June 22, 2018
Me: pic.twitter.com/aMkxZTYkw5
https://twitter.com/TomGartner/status/1009980573719388161
#HotDogWater Yes please
— Stray Liotta, Hey Spots! (@StrayLiotta) June 22, 2018
Best part of #CarFreeDay was quenching my thirst with the best water out there, #HotDogWater pic.twitter.com/OL9rARFQo6
— rich aucoin (@richaucoin) June 18, 2018
Never thought a day will come when they will sell #UNFILTERED #water in fancy bottles for $38 and that too with a hot dog!! #smh it was all a marketing stunt in #Vancouver annual Car Free Day festival. #WASH https://t.co/8pBAhfaqBA pic.twitter.com/2kyYHp4jXI
— Paki Faloda (@PakiFaloda) June 22, 2018
Move over Diet Dr. Pepper, I'm all about #HotDogWater this summer pic.twitter.com/9PRqQfW4jM
— Ryan Irwin (@rirwin01) June 20, 2018
How did Fred Durst not think of this 20 years ago?… #HotDogWater pic.twitter.com/ucbPuHITkb
— R2 (@junioRMinc) June 22, 2018
Hot dog water: Would you try it? It seems almost inevitable before Trader Joe’s comes out with its own recipe.