They say the best things in life are free.

I'd like to amend that.

One of the best things in life only costs a buck fifty and you can get it EVERYDAY at the Costco Food Court.

And from what I understand it's been that way and that price for a very, very long time.

In 1985, Costco first introduced its now legendary food court deal: a hot dog and soda for just $1.50. Part of what makes the offer so mythical is that, 35 years later, the price hasn't budged—despite the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator suggests the price should be around $3.65 today. (Food & Wine)

Seriously, I get one of these EVERY TIME I go shopping at the Costco in East Lansing. I used to fill up on the free samples. Now I grab a hot dog and a soda BEFORE I go shopping. If you go in there hungry, trying to get groceries, and you forget you're at Costco...you're in trouble.

And I thought a Target run could get out of control.

Here's something you may not know. I remember a while back (or maybe it was just an Alaska thing because they had it there) you could pick from two different types of dogs for this deal. The all beef hot dog OR the polish dog.

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And pre-Covid they had the station where you could get relish, onions, different types of mustard, the works. You used to be able to get a little cup of sauerkraut.

But through it all, no matter what's going on in the world, the Costco hot dog has been and will always be $1.50.

And funny story about that. It's been stuck at that price because of a death threat. Made jokingly but taken seriously enough that the price has remained the same ever since.

“I came to [Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal] once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends,’” Jelinek was quoted as saying. He then shared Sinegal’s response: “He said, ‘If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’” (Food & Wine)

Find out 10 things about the Costco Food Court you didn't know HERE.

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