John Montagu of England, the fourth Earl of Sandwich and a nobleman in the court of King George III, is credited with creating the first sandwich. Hungry during an all-night card game, he requested that meat be put between two slices of bread so that he could eat with one hand and play cards with the other. That's why National Sandwich Day is observed on Nov. 3—the earl's birthday.

Although peanut butter was invented in the 1890s, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches did not become popular until the 1940s, when they were included in soldiers' rations during World War II. Today, the average American child eats 1,500 of them before graduating from high school. The sandwiches are also a favorite of President George W. Bush.

Jack in the Box created the first fast-food breakfast sandwich in 1969. Today, the Breakfast Jack, which consists of ham, egg and cheese on a hamburger bun for 99 cents, is the chain's top-selling breakfast product.

"I think the price has something to do with it," says local manager Tony Haro, who cites the equal popularity of the 99-cent Jumbo Jack. Anyway, it's a lot of Jacks, and if all the Breakfast Jacks sold in a year were lined up side by side, they would span some 6,000 miles—approximately the distance from Los Gatos to Vienna, Austria.

The most popular sandwich in the United States is the hamburger, with the average American consuming 100 burgers each year. While the origins of the hamburger are hotly debated, the city of Seymour, Wis., claims to be the home of the hamburger. Seymour residents even built the Hamburger Hall of Fame to prove it. The city holds a Burger Fest each August, which includes events like a ketchup slide and a bun-tossing contest.

Comic strip character Dagwood Bumstead, husband of Blondie, is known for his love of sandwiches stacked high with meat on long hoagie roles. To this day, some Americans still refer to big submarine-style sandwiches as "Dagwoods."

The Stage Deli in New York City offers more than 30 sandwiches named after celebrities. The Tom Hanks features roast beef, chopped liver and onions, while the Dolly Parton is two rolls stuffed with corned beef, pastrami, coleslaw and Russian dressing.

Americans, on average, consume 26.3 million hot dogs in major league ballparks each year. The most are consumed in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, with 1.5 million sold annually.

For $5.75, visitors can eat like The King at Elvis Presley's Memphis Restaurant, which serves up Elvis' favorite: a fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich—but hold the jelly.

Although the Philadelphia cheesesteak is one of the nation's most popular sandwiches, citizens of the city of brotherly love don't refer to their beloved sandwich as such. "Cheesesteak" or just "steak" are the preferred monikers. If the sandwich isn't ordered as a "Philly lean," a bite into one will create a rain of juice.

Jack in the Box, 15771 Los Gatos Blvd. in Los Gatos, is open Sunday through Wednesday, 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, call 408.356.1049.