What’s the difference between a Hero, a Hoagie & a Submarine Sandwich?

And now, it’s time for Who’s Smarty? Psst, hey, Smarty Pants, trusty narrator here. I don’t know about you, but I love lunch, and breakfast, and dinner, but especially lunch. And especially when I’m visiting friends in a new city.

That’s because I get to try out familiar foods at new places. Who wants meat cake? Nope, not meat cake. There’s only one place to get meat cake, and I am not going there today. Sorry, Grandma. I beat that.

Well, yes, I do love pizza, but today I’m in the mood for a different combination of bread, cheese, meats, and toppings. Today I’m visiting a deli, which is short for the word delicatessen. Any idea what that word means?

The word delicatessen comes from a German word, meaning delicacy, or fine food. And a delicatessen, or deli, is a shop where you can find foods that are mostly ready to eat, as in don’t need to be cooked.

Which is good because… I’m starving.

Next oh good. That’s me step down, please. I’m stepping hmm. I never forget a face I definitely remember yours First time here in Mo’s deli why yes, and I’m very excited. Yeah, I can see that is it your first time in a deli

No, no, I’m a regular at most of the delis back home. Yeah, I can see that too. All right, what will it be today? I want a hero with ham, salami, turkey, pepperoni, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, hot peppers, vinegar, oil, and a dab of mayo.

To go. You’ll have a what? Uh, a one ham, salami.

No, no, I got all that. What was the first thing you said?

want to hear of. And what? You know, a sandwich on one of those long Italian rolls? Like the one sitting over there in that basket. A preferably one with sesame seeds on top.

Bellow, you must be from out of town. Around here, we call sandwiches on long rolls a hoagie, a hoagie.

A hoagie? I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone call it that before. What about you, smarty pants? Have you ever called your hero’s sandwich? A hoagie?

Yeah, I don’t know who you’re talking to, pal, but here in Philly, home of the Liberty Bell, we call them hoagies. In that case, a hoagie it is then. Your name? Trusty. You say Rusty?

No, no, trusty. As in the trusty narrator from the popular Who Smarted podcast?

Who’s smart and

Hey, I never heard of it. Step down, it’ll be ruddy in five. Step in!

Stepping! Gee, smarty pants, that Moe sure is a character. And what’s with him not knowing what a hero is and insisting I call my hero sandwich a hoagie?

Hey there, trusty, right?

Uh, yeah? Do I know you?

Nope, but I know you, and my kids and I are big fans of who’s smarted.

Aww, thanks! Would you like an autograph?

Maybe later. First, I want to talk about sandwiches.

Oh, okay, uh, what’s that?

What’s your name? Amos Budinski. Most people call me Bud. Nice to meet you, Bud. I take it you’re a regular. Whenever I’m in town, I’m a long distance trucker. That’s my rig parked out back. I’ve traveled the entire country, eating sandwiches everywhere you can think.

And one thing I found is that a lot of the same sandwiches have different names. One person’s hero is another person’s hoagie, or submarine, or grinder, or a wedge. Whoa.

I like the way you talk and eat most of all I’d love to get to the bottom of all these different sandwich names Where did they come from? What are the stories behind them and what differences are there?

if any. Now you’re talking turkey and ham and salami.

Oh, yeah, it’s time for a whiff of science and a bite of history on

Who’s smarted? Who’s smarted? Who’s smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up! Everyone, we make smarting! Lots of fun on Who’s Smarted!

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Sign up for Greenlight today, and get your first month free when you go to greenlight .com backslash smarted. That’s greenlight .com backslash smarted to try Greenlight for free. Alright bud, since we’re here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, let’s start with why do they call their sandwiches hoagies?

Smarty pants, see if you can guess. Is the hoagie sandwich named after, A, a popular dance move back in the day? B, a famous musician and composer named Hoagie Carmichael.

Sometimes I wonder

Or C, the sandwiches that workers from Italy made at the Hog Island Navy Shipyard. So which is it, bud? The answer is C. If you said the Hog Island Navy Shipyard, great job. But also, what does any of it mean?

What’s a hoagie?

Although there are several different stories out there as to who came up with the original name, I like the one which takes place during the first World War at the Navy shipyard, referred to as Hog Island.

The workers there were referred to as hoggies. And the huge elaborate sandwiches they constructed and consumed for lunch became closely associated with them. Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom. Also, because the sandwiches were so big and piled so high and with so many items, people said you’d have to be a hog to finish it all.

Then over time, the name changed from hoggie to hoagie, and the hoagie sandwich was born.

You know, that sounds equal parts logical and ridiculous. But I like it.

Now, if I were to head north up the Turnpike to New Jersey… Joyzie, what exit? Uh, how about A &A? Great. Then we’re talking blimpies. Blimpies?

Is it a blimp, or a dirigible, or an airship you might see hovering above a football stadium during a big game?

Yep, exactly. I believe it was three friends from the town of Hoboken, New Jersey that decided to start a business together by creating oversized sandwiches that resembled the shape of a blimp.

course blimpies they were like subway sandwiches before subway

existed from there if we were to head east to say New York City that’s where you’d be looking to order a hero

Yes, now we’re talking. As a New Yorker, my friends and I have always called and ordered big sandwiches on long rolls, heroes. But while they’re pretty heroic in the fight against hunger, I’m guessing there’s a better story behind how the hero got its name.

Well, once again, I’ve heard different versions about the origin of the hero sandwich. But the one that seems most believable concerns a food columnist named Clementine Paddleworth. For a food critic, that name is a mouthful.

Good one, trusty. Clementine wrote for the newspaper called the New York Herald Tribune. Let’s drink, drink, read all about it. And in one of her reviews, written in the year 1936, it was noted that a person would have to be a hero to finish the extra large sandwich she was describing in her column.

Wow, that’s pretty cool. Even cooler is the thought that the term Clementine coined in a food article from 1936 has stuck around until this day. It just goes to show, smarty pants, you never know what word or phrase is gonna stand the test of time.

tummy. Nom nom nom nom. Continuing our sandwich tour, we’ll head just north of New York City to an area called Westchester County. Oh, I’ve been to Westchester if you…

few times. I grew up there. Oh, you win. So what are sandwiches called there? Smarty Pants, see if you can guess. Is it a log, a barge, or a wedge? A wedge. I gotta say, Smarty Pants, when you think of the word wedge, what comes to mind?

Are you thinking about a piece of wood or metal used to keep two things apart? Or maybe that triangle thing that holds a door open? Maybe a golf club or a kind of shoe? And I’m not even going to mention a wedgie.

I gotta say, none of those sound very.

I hear ya, but the story I heard growing up was that the Wedge Sandwich originated at a deli located in the city of Yonkers, known mostly for horse racing. These deli owners were from Italy and spoke with thick Italian accents, but when customers came into the shop and ordered a sandwich, it was difficult for the owners to pronounce, so it typically came out as Sand Wedge.

Ultimately, it evolved and shortened to just the word Wedge.

Amazing. I love hearing all the quirky behind -the -scenes reasons why the same sandwiches are called different things by region

Yep, and speaking of different regions, we’re going to continue heading northeast to Springfield, Massachusetts, but we have one quick stop to make before that.

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Next, Groton, New London, in Connecticut.

If I’m not mistaken, isn’t there a large naval facility located there?

There sure is.

Hm, smarty pants, which of these navy vessels do you think they specialize in making at this facility in Groton, New London? Is it A. Aircraft Carriers, B. Battleships, or C. Submarines? If you said C.

Submarines, you’re right. Now, what could submarines have to do with C?

sandwiches.

Whoa. That is a lot of sandwiches.

And guess what, those sandwiches were all made with Italian bread that happened to be in the shape of something they made at the base.

Ooh, smarty pants, can you guess what that was? Did you say a submarine? If so, you’re right. Or even better.

Eventually, those sandwiches were simply referred to as subs.

Nice. I’ve definitely sunk a few sub -sandwiches in my past. Nom nom nom nom nom. Okay, what does that leave us with?

Our final stop, Springfield, Massachusetts.

Wow, so these sandwiches really are mostly an East Coast thing, huh?

Well, there are sandwiches of many shapes and sizes from all over the world and all over the U .S. But for these specific kind of deli sandwiches, yeah, they all pretty much originated on the East Coast.

Okay, so…

we’ve done hoagie hero blimpy sub and wedge what’s missing what do you think smarty pants I can practically hear your brains grinding as you think of the answer and I may or may not have just given you a huge hint as to what it’s called

One of the stories that’s come down through the years explains why New Englanders called this kind of sandwich a grinder.

Did you get that, smarty pants? The last sandwich name is a grinder. But I gotta say, this one is the least obvious. The others at least make sense in terms of the shape or pronunciation of the sandwich.

What does a grinder or grinding something have to do with it?

with lunch? I get your confusion, trusty. Many say it has some connections to the sub in Connecticut. The term grinder was used to describe the dock workers sanding down and grinding the rusty hulls of ships so they could be repainted.

The grinder sandwich was named in honor of them. Uh, okay. Others have said that the name came about due to the sandwich itself. How’s that? Well, we know that these types of sandwiches are typically piled high with all sorts of meats, cheeses, and delicious fixings and spreads.

And all that sandwich goodness requires a thick, strong bread to hold everything inside. Okay, I’m buying all of that so far. And with all those ingredients stuffed inside a sturdy bread, it can be difficult to chew through all that, which means your teeth have to work hard in grinding everything up in order for you to chew and swallow your sandwich.

Ah, hence the term grinder. Bingo! Wow, I gotta say, bud, all this talk about subs, heroes, hogies, wedges, blimpies, and grinders sure has me psyched for my lunch today. I bet.

Timing! There you go. Sorry for the wait, but I promise this hoagie is worth the wait. Thanks Mo.

You’re my hero.

Now why this guy, huh? Why are you outta…

Hello, hello, hello.

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Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or on our website who’s smarted .com. Just click subscribe and teachers click on educators to get Who’s Smarted Plus for free. Thanks for smarting with us. A double smarty shout out to Madeleine and Benjamin in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

We’re so happy to hear that you both love listening to Who’s Smarted because it helps you learn new things. And I am especially happy to hear that you both think the trusty narrator is hilarious. Thanks, you two.

This episode, sub sandwiches, was written by Dave Double Meets Davis and voiced by Mike Provolone Provetti, Adam Delicounter Davis and Jerry Kolber. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Heavy on the Mayo Han.

Our associate producer is Max Martadella Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Shredded Lettuce Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Text Davis. Who’s Smarted was created and produced by Adam Text Davis and Jerry Kolber.

This has been an atomic entertainment production.

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