the pronto pup was invented by the husband and wife team of george and versa boyington in the late 1930s in rockaway beach, oregon. the boyingtons ran a small hot dog stand on the beach, selling the dogs to tourists and locals alike. when the rain came and ruined the buns, making them soggy and inedible, george boyington came up with the idea of cooking a "bun" as needed. he created a pancake batter based mix and the duo came up with the formula used today. pronto pups are also a common food found in county fairs throughout minnesota, nebraska, iowa, and north and south dakota. they differ from the original by generally, but not always, using a bratwurst instead of a hotdog as the sausage.