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in general. In fact, they have loads of options. It's fairly easy to get your hands
on something like pho or a sandwich quickly, no matter where you are.
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So, we know McDonald's is massive, and we know you've been there dozens
of times. But ... what don't you know about McDonald's? It probably doesn't
surprise you that a company this big has a ton of weird stories they try to keep
quiet, so this is the untold truth of McDonald's.
Then, in early 2015, there were several reports of customers finding pieces of
plastic and vinyl in their Chicken McNuggets, leading to the recall of one
million of the bite-sized chicken chunks. Their supplier, Cargill, investigated,
and came to the conclusion that the contamination didn't happen in their
factory. So where did it come from? We may never know... but it was there.
That's because McDonald's actually lost the trademark to the Big Mac in the
European Union after a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office (via
Reuters), and this is how it happened.
The Guardian says that it was in the 1960s that Pat McDonagh was given the
nickname "Supermac" during a football match in Ireland's County Westmeath.
Later, McDonagh went on to open a massively successful burger chain, and
he called it Supermac's. When he tried to open locations outside of Ireland,
McDonald's claimed "Supermac" was too close to "Big Mac" and would lead
to brand confusion. But the EUIPO ruled in favor of Supermac's, and it was a
huge deal — it didn't just mean the Irish chain could expand into other
countries in the EU, it also meant that the "Big Mac" trademark was void.
Happy Meals are changing with the times, too. In 2014, The Atlantic reported
that because McDonald's UK ran a promotion that offered codes for e-books
instead of toys, it made them — temporarily, at least — the largest book
distributor in the UK. See, they can use their powers for good!
Here's a fun fact: Yes, some of those McDonald's toys are worth a decent
amount of money. According to Mental Floss, if you have the late 1990s-era
McFurbys, any of the early Diener Keshi figures from the late 1970s and early
1980s, any of the Monsters, Inc. toys, or full sets of the Minions toys or the
101 Dalmatians, you can make a bit of extra cash.
First, a bit of a disclaimer: it's hard to give exact numbers, because so many
locations are opening and closing all the time. So let's talk about 2017.
According to CNBC, McDonald's was only the second largest chain in the
world, as far as physical locations go. While they had 37,241 restaurants, they
were handily beat out by Subway and their 43,912 locations. Starbucks was a
surprisingly distant third, trailing with their 27,339 stores.
But that's a bit deceptive. When it comes to sales growth, Starbucks and
McDonald's were miles ahead.
And now, let's talk about 2018 and stores in the U.S. only. According to
Business Insider, Subway was still at the top of the pile with around 25,800
domestic locations. But Starbucks had recently passed McDonald's, opening
14,300 stores in comparison to McDonald's roughly 14,000 U.S. restaurants.
By 2020, QSR reported McDonald's was still in third place, trailing Subway
and Starbucks once again.
As of 2016, McDonald's held about $30 billion worth of real estate, and that
netted them an annual profit of $4.5 billion. Talk about a brilliant business
plan.
Startup costs can range anywhere from $958,000 and $2.2 million, and
includes everything from construction to kitchen equipment and signage.
Franchisees are responsible for paying 40 percent of that with non-borrowed
cash — though they do allow you to borrow the rest.
And if they decide the whole restaurant needs a remodel, you're looking at as
much as $2 million. Still interested?
The song was Mack the Knife, made famous by 1950s star Bobby Darin. It's
catchy, sure, but it's also a song based on a German song from The
Threepenny Opera. That was originally a pretty graphic, incredibly violent tale
about a man named Macheath (who actually dates back to 1728, says The
Concourse). While McDonald's "Moon Man" sung lyrics like "When the clock
strikes/Half past 6, babe/Time to head for/Golden lights," Darin had sung
lyrics like "You know when that shark bites/With his teeth, babe/Scarlet
billows/Start to spread." There are also entire verses about someone being
drowned at the bottom of a river with a pair of cement shoes, and the ladies of
the night lining up for Mack and, well, that's about as far from slinging burgers
as you can get.
The campaign disappeared abruptly, and that's largely because Darin's only
son sued McDonald's for $10 million. The internet never forgets, though, and
the Moon Man went on to have a post-mainstream ad campaign life as a
racist meme created by YTMND, a Something Awful/4chan spinoff group.
What other areas can't get their McDonald's fix? When the U.S. military
closed their base in Bermuda in 1995, McDonald's closed, too — and they
haven't reopened, because of the Prohibited Restaurants Act 1977. Iran
kicked them out in 1979, and instead, they're home to a chain called Mash
Donald's. Macedonia and McDonald's had a falling out, and McDonald's
chose to cut and run out of Bolivia after a sort of nationwide disdain for the
chain resulted in poor sales.
Barbados — which traditionally doesn't eat much beef — was another failed
experiment, with their McDonald's lasting just one year. There are plenty of
rumors as to why McDonald's has never opened in Montenegro, and, of
course, there are none in North Korea.
The McDonald's logo went through a few more tweaks, and here's the weird
thing: they're not all golden.
And here's a weird, fun fact you'll never be able to un-know: Freudian
psychologists have suggested it's such a popular logo because it's
reminiscent of humankind's original source of nourishment — breasts.
It wasn't over until June 19, 1997, when the judge issued his 762-page verdict
and ordered Steel and Morris to pay £60,000 in damages, finding McDonald's
not guilty of many of their accusations. The pair have refused to pay,
McDonald's has said they have no interest in collecting, and the case went
down in history.
According to the Independent, one of the core issues was unnatural breeding
practices that resulted in chickens that got too big too quickly and ended up
suffering all kinds of health issues and heart failure. All this came on the heels
of McDonald's announcement (via Reuters) that they were going to be raising
the standard of care for their chickens... by 2024. Is it good enough?
There's a surprising number of people who have not only tried, but who have
made headlines for it. In March 2018, BBC reported that a man in Suffolk,
England had trotted up to the drive-thru and attempted to order a McCafe latte
before being told the drive-thru actually wasn't for horses. (He went inside to
get his coffee.) Just a few months later it happened again, in Worcestershire.
The customer wanted a Big Mac, and the horse? His name was Oliver,
Express reported. They weren't served by McDonald's, but they did get a
snack from a nearby Cafe Nero.
South Carolina's Isaiah Rhones had better luck, when The AJC caught him on
camera going through the drive-thru for some sweet tea and apple pies (and
yes, his trusty steed was the recipient of an apple-flavored treat, too).
But a McDonald's in New Zealand wasn't having any of it, when they turned
away two women on horseback. According to Wide Open Pets, the chain
cited health and safety reasons for turning riders away.
According to The Street, there was a major push back in 2011 to retire him.
Why? Because, petitions said, he was being used to market unhealthy fast
food items to kids, and that wasn't good. At the time, CBR says he was sort of
already on his way out: McDonald's was shifting their marketing more toward
adults, and had already gotten rid of most of their other McDonaldland
characters. Still, Ronald was being increasingly more often lumped in with
mascots like Joe Camel, who represented a company now condemned for
trying to make cigarettes appeal to the youth.
And nowhere was that more visible than their ill-fated attempt to give Ronald
his own Twitter account. Forbes says that when the chain decided to have
their mascot tweet with #RonaldMcDonald in 2014, it went about as well as
expected. There was more hate than love, and his fate was finally sealed in
2016. He was officially retired when the world started seeing people dressed
as creepy, threatening clowns everywhere, and that was when McDonald's
decided enough was enough.
Grimace is ... whatever you want him to be, apparently. "Whether he's a taste
bud, a milkshake or just your favorite purple blob – the best part about
Grimace is that he means different things to different people ... Whatever he
is, we're just proud our bestie makes people happy," a McDonald's
spokesperson said to CBS News, as reported by People.
If you're still at a loss, the spokesperson did specify that Grimace "is an
enormous taste bud." So, there you have it. Grimace is a taste bud, but he's
also whatever you want him to be.
The McDonald's mascot, who is known for saying "Robble, robble!", has a
long history with the restaurant, one that includes many iterations. He started
as an old man in a stereotypical thief's costume (has anyone ever stolen
anything wearing that particular outfit, though?). He's been known as the
"Lone Jogger," and he's also teamed up with Captain Crook. But in the early
2000s, according to Mental Floss, McDonald's retired the Hamburglar.
Yes, you read that correctly. McDonald's has its own cryptocurrency. And it
came about in a rather bizarre way. Its inception comes from a Twitter
exchange with billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk and the restaurant. Musk
tweeted, "I will eat a happy meal on tv if McDonald's accepts Dogecoin," to
which McDonald's joking replied, "only if Tesla accepts grimacecoin," as
Grimacecoin, at that point, was not real.
The joke either went horribly right or horribly wrong, because now,
Grimacecoin is real, and can be purchased on blockchains and traded on
exchange sites. If you've been looking to buy a Tesla, perhaps Grimacecoin is
your ticket to doing so (but probably not).
This is the most expensive menu item you can order at McDonald's
Bloomberg/Getty Images
If a Tesla isn't in your price range but you still want to use your
cryptocurrency, since McDonald's now accepts Bitcoin as payment (although
only in El Salvador), perhaps you can just purchase the chain's most
expensive menu item. You might have to travel to make this purchase,
though.
If you're looking for bargain food, travel to Malaysia, Egypt, or the Philippines,
where they only charge $.48 for extra fries. What you save on food can go
toward travel expenses. Although we like McDonald's, we're not sure we
would travel that far just to have it, but we applaud anyone who does.
Rappers, singers, and actors have all joined forces with the fast food
behemoth to create a meal that is made of menu items they're particularly
fond of. For instance, Travis Scott created The Cactus Jack meal, which
included a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce, a Sprite, and
fries with BBQ sauce. K-pop sensation BTS curated The BTS Meal with 10
Chicken McNuggets, Cajun and Sweet Chili sauces, french fries, and a Coke.
McDonald's isn't the only fast food restaurant cashing in on the celebrity meal
craze, though. Tim Hortons and Justin Bieber created their own meal, KFC
and Jack Harlow have one, and Burger King and Lil Huddy have a meal
together, just to name a few.
The terms of the card vary from holder to holder. Some are granted fast food
for a year, while others have unlimited access for the rest of their life. Rob
Lowe, another McGold Card holder, told Jimmy Kimmel, "This is a real thing,
you guys," showing that his was valid for a year. Let that be a lesson to all. If
you work hard enough and make enough money, you too could one day get
free McDonald's food for life.
A child actor, Gellar starred in a Burger King commercial in the early 1980s, in
which it claimed its rival's burgers contained less meat and were fried rather
than broiled. McDonald's, finding these claims misleading, sued its competitor,
and Gellar's name was included in the filing.
Years later, TMZ ran a story claiming the actor herself was sued by and had
been banned from the restaurant, but as the Huffington Post points out,
neither is true. Though Gellar was named in the lawsuit, she herself was not
sued, and she was not banned from the restaurant. As Gellar noted, "Banned
is a strong word." The actor could patronize McDonald's, she just felt
uncomfortable doing so. "I missed out on a lot of apple pies," she added.
That, we think, is the real crime.
The public was particularly critical of McDonald's in the mid-2010s, and at that
time, Chipotle's sales were up, while its former investor's sales were down.
McDonald's made every attempt to regain its popularity, including rebranding
and major personnel changes, and it's clearly still in business today.
If you're looking to have your own stake in either business, Investment U
names both companies in the top six fast food restaurants to buy stock in this
year.
As CNBC reports, the famed sandwich is made of ground pork that is then
shaped to resemble a rack of ribs. The process of making the sandwich was
shown on Mythbusters, and one of the bystanders, who was disgusted with
the sandwich initially, changed his opinion after watching. "It's different now
that I know what actually goes inside of it, and I know what actually the
process is in terms of making it. It's actually good pork," he said.
There's no word on what Pusha T earned for his work, but Timberlake, who's
now worth an estimated $250 million per Celebrity Net Worth, was
compensated well for his efforts. The singer took home $6 million for voicing
the jingle, which is precisely how much we'd like in damages for the song
living in our heads rent-free since 2003.
Ronald McDonald, the world's most lovable (?) clown, was not always so
lovable, though. His first iteration was quite scary, much like the Hamburglar.
He wore a cup for a nose and painted a second set of eyebrows resembling
the famed arches on his face. Thankfully, he eventually got a makeover
(though for many, he is still a little unsettling to see, admittedly).
You can thank Catholicism for Filet-o-Fish ... and the Hula Burger
Robson90/Shutterstock
All good ideas come from competition. Well, some do. But competition is what
led McDonald's to sell the Filet-o-Fish, so if you're a fan of the dish, thank
competition. Oh, and you can also thank Catholicism.
"Everyone was going down the street on Fridays to Frisch's restaurant that
sold a fish sandwich," Groen's granddaughter Erica Shadoin told the National
Catholic Register. To make up for lost revenue, Groen began selling his own
fish sandwich. Ray Kroc, McDonald's famed former CEO, contested the idea,
but Groen stood firm as his fish sandwiches were keeping him in business.
Kroc created his own sandwich, the hula burger, which was a slice of
pineapple and cheese on a bun, and challenged Groen to a sandwich sales
competition, with the winner remaining on the menu. Groen won (and no
offense to Kroc, but the hula burger sounds awful) and the Filet-o-Fish has
been on the menu ever since. Per the New York Times, over 200 million Filet-
o-Fishes were sold in the United States in 2012 alone, so it was clearly the
right decision.
You'll be glad to know the McNuggets are actually made from chicken, as
seen in the video, and not slime or goop as rumored. McDonald's has
dispelled the claims on its website.
The shake, which has been sold in McDonald's restaurants across the nation
since 1970, was first called the St. Patrick's Day Green Milkshake, according
to Coca-Cola, and was made with lemon-lime sherbet, vanilla ice cream, and
vanilla syrup. However in 1973, according to The 42, McDonald's changed the
flavor of the shake to plain vanilla, adding green food coloring to keep with the
theme.
Now the Shamrock Shake is mint flavored, and each year it comes with
various shamrock offshoots. For example, in 2017, the seasonal drink was
accompanied by the Chocolate Shamrock Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate
Chip Frappe, the Shamrock Hot Chocolate, and the Shamrock Mocha. In
2022, it was sold alongside the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry. Each of those
sounds worlds better than the original Shamrock Shake flavor, but we praise
McDonald's for seeing the error of its ways and landing on a flavor that is now
loved by many.