Welcome the Newbie - I come Bearing Hamdingers - AKA WHAT is a Hamdinger..

[Fairy Princess]

Hamdingers are rumored to be a local culinary treat in the Wisconsin area. They have been described as a sort of SPAM sandwich. While Denny's may have had soemtihng named that as well, that is not what they are referring to on MST3K.

[MontyServo]

Maybe we need to ask a higher authority...

Oh great and wise Michael J Nelson!!!  Please answer this question for us lowly Rifftrax fans!!!

What exactly is a "hamdinger"?

We thankfully and humbly await your reply.

P.S. Mods, please forward this question to the great and powerful Mr. Mike, if he is not reading these forums much these days.   

[Fairy Princess]

I got my info from Ask.com and the Dubious people at Wikipedia.

To be fair I DID find info that Hamdinger WAS also an item at Denny's.

In Mitchell though it they were referred to as being in a "box" which would lend to the idea the MSTer's were referring to the frozen sandwhich version...

[Argo-Puppy]

Woo-hoo! Learned something new today. Also happy to see another lady join the bunch! 

[Steve-O]

Yeah, perhaps I should have sounded less authoritative in my earlier replies.  There very possibly could be something else called a Hamdinger that was a regional Wisconsin/Minnesota thing.  I don't know for certain that there isn't.

However, my suspicion is that they were referring to the Denny's Hamdinger in MST3K.  For one thing, the definitions on ask.com, Wikipedia, and the MST3K FAQ always refer to the "spam sandwich" version as a rumor; and the fact that there are no other mentions to Hamdingers anywhere else on the web seems to bear out the fact that they don't exist.  On the other hand, I know for a fact that the Hamdinger Slam existed, having ordered one myself.

My guess is that somebody on the MST3K crew ran across the word "Hamdinger" on a Denny's menu and thought it sounded either irredemably goofy or genially amusing.  The word probably got thrown around a lot in the writing room, and eventually made it on to the show.  The "box of Hamdingers" does put one in mind of frozen foods, but I suspect they just thought it sounded funny and provided a good excuse to mention Hamdingers.

The speculative definitions probably came later, when fans in various forums threw some ideas together on the nature of the Hamdinger.  It's now been repeated enough times in enough places that MST fans have come to accept it as fact.

[JonnyFrag]

I had always thought they were some sort of frosted snack cake, kind of like a Zinger. Remember how good those red Zingers looked, until you bit into one and it turned out to be like a raspberry jam log covered in old coconut and sponge material?

[Wheaty Petestraw]

Yikes!  A girl!

poly.bi.guy@gmail.com



...that doesn't sound like the e-mail address of a chick to me, but it does look like someone who just might be into you! 

[Sharktopus]

If the hamdinger is indeed Denny's Moons Over My Hammy, then I must insist that all comments mentioning sandwiches be edited to say "sammich."

[Cap'n UKRiffer]

If the hamdinger is indeed Denny's Moons Over My Hammy, then I must insist that all comments mentioning sandwiches be edited to say "sammich."

I second this motion...

[Fairy Princess]

SO get in the kitchen and make me a sammiche, Bitch! And don't skimp on the mustard!

[LolygagerX]

Hamdingers are what they used in Episode 512 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 "Mitchel" The episode is when Joel leaves the SOL (AKA Satellite of Love) And Michael J. Nelson as (Mike Nelson) Comes into the picture.. Anyways Joel use's the ecscape pod wich is marked as "Hamdingers" and goes back to Earth..

[Cap'n UKRiffer]

Hamdingers are what they used in Episode 512 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 "Mitchel" The episode is when Joel leaves the SOL (AKA Satellite of Love) And Michael J. Nelson as (Mike Nelson) Comes into the picture.. Anyways Joel use's the ecscape pod wich is marked as "Hamdingers" and goes back to Earth..

Yea but they are trying to work out exactly what IS a hamdinger? So far they've got it down to a item of food but beyond that no ones quite sure...

[LolygagerX]

Heres a link to what a Hamdinger is or Could be.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamdingers

[Sharktopus]

All this speculation drove me out to Denny's last night and I actually ordered a Moons Over My Hammy sammich and pondered the deeper meaning of hamdingers. I didn't come to any conclusions, but I do feel a bit oogy.

[Pak-Man]

Here's what the info club FAQ says:

Q: Just what IS a hamdinger?
A: Hamdingers (a pivotal plot element in the story of Joel's escape in episode 512- Mitchell and mentioned again in episode 513- The Brain That Wouldn't Die) are reportedly miniature microwavable (and very nasty-tasting) sandwiches made out of processed ham...sort of spamburgers. It was reported that they were a product of the Swift-Premium company, but a search of their web site turns up no such product.