Oh, this controversy! This is one that I actually watched unfold, to an extent, because even Merriam-Webster weighed in on it.
I don't even care about hot dogs and their status as a sandwich; I just want to say that Merriam-Webster is a ray of light in these dark, confusing times. I'm glad I follow them on Twitter.
Why is or isn’t a hamburger a sandwich?
I would say so. Maybe it's a question of the orientation of the bread that throws people off. Hamburgers have proper bread orientation to be a sandwich; hot dogs don't.
Why is or isn’t a wrap a sandwich?
I say it is, for the same bread orientation reasons outlined above.
Why are or aren’t Oreos and ice cream sandwiches sandwiches?
They're sandwich cookies, but they're not sandwiches. There's no bread! They could never be a reasonably filling and healthy meal!
Why does or doesn’t listening to an audio book count as reading the book?
Now here's the really juicy question. What is the point of reading a book? Is it to consume the story, or is it to consume the story in a particular way? Is there an advantage to reading? (Like how some studies suggest that readers retain more from paper copies than from ebooks.)
After all, reading or listening doesn't change the story or the language, for that matter. Not to mention that audiobooks are a godsend for people with visual impairments or dyslexia. Isn't it better that they hear a story instead of not being able to consume it at all? Didn't all language and literature start out as oral traditions of storytelling?
And yet, I would still feel like I was cheating, somehow, to say that I had read the audiobook I listened to.
All of this is a moot point anyway, though. I don't care for audiobooks for reasons unrelated to snobbery. I have a hard time paying attention to purely audio information (same problem I have with a lot of podcasts) and am incredibly likely to zone out and miss huge chunks of the story without even realizing it. It doesn't matter how good the narrator is.
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