19 Surprising McDonald’s Fact Very Few of Us Are Aware Of
Everyone immediately recognizes the giant ‘M’ clearly seen from afar. McDonald’s has won the reputation of the king of fast-food. Although dieticians constantly warn us against the side effects of regular French fries and hamburger consumption, from time to time everyone has got a McDonald’s craving.
We have collected a bunch of pretty interesting facts and figures concerning this American chain that most consumers might not have heard of yet. Some of them are really surprising!
#1 The M is not always yellow
Exception makes the rule. This is also the case with the famous McDonald’s logo. There are two places in the world where the two arches making up the M are not yellow. In Paris, at the famous Champs-Elysees, they are white. In Sedon, Arizona, the M is blue. It’s all about matching the background colors.
#2 It all started with BBQ
Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant on May 15, 1940, in San Bernardino, California. They first served steaks and barbecue dishes. It was in 1948 that the menu was enriched with hamburgers, fries and cocktails.
#3 A museum of a sandwich
The most famous McDonald’s burger is Big Mac. It has been so successful that it’s already got its own museum, located in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The attractions include a four-meter tall statue of the cult sandwich.
#4 Taken over by competition
Believe it or not, McDonald’s is not the biggest chain of restaurants in America. It has been taken over by Subway, which offers mainly sandwiches and salads. However, in the battle for the largest number of customers, McDonald’s remains invincible as its restaurants are visited by the biggest number of fast food fans.
#5 A pink meat pulp instead of chicken
Some time ago an image of pink pulp went viral. It was chicken meat mechanically separated from the bones. It was supposed to be added to chicken nuggets. Though we may never discover the truth, since 2003 nuggets are made of chicken breasts (without any minced meat)
#6 Winter Mac
One of MacDonald’s restaurants is located in Lindvallen , a Swedish skiing resort. It is called McSki as you can only order food there as long as you are wearing skis.
#7 Hamburgers and toys
Every year, approximately 1.5 billion toys are sold together with Happy Meals. This makes the chain the largest toy distributor in the world.
#8 Sales per second
According to McDonald’s, they sell a stunning 75 hamburgers per second.
#9 A catchy commercial
The catchy I’m loving it was sung by Justin Timberlake.
#10 McDonald’s in the White House
One of the most famous McDonald’s hamburgers fans is Donald Trump. It is rumored that his White House chefs make him a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese. It consists mainly of beef and pickles.
#11 Taking care of kids
73 McDonald’s restaurants in America have got a spot called PlayPlace. This is a playground designed for kids aged 3-12. Children can burn some of the calories there having fun in pools of colorful balls or other attractions.
#12 A burger university
In Illinois (USA) there is a hamburger university. What does it offer? This is a place where the restaurants’ employees can increase their competence by taking part in courses in management or a variety of other educational activities.
#13 A bit of cheating
The McRib sandwich in fact does not contain any ribs. Instead, there is some pork shoulder formed to look like ribs.
#14 A sauce worth millions
Big Macs are served with a special sauce which was introduced in 1968. It has become so popular that McDonald’s decided to launch it a s a separate product, too.
However, buying it is not so easy. At one of auction websites 335 ml costs approximately $90. In Australia, the same sauce was sold online for about $15,000! The profits were donated to the Ronald McDonald foundation which helps children in need.
#15 Best-selling French fries
Number one on the top-selling list is French fries. The consumers did not quite fall for Hula Burger. It was a bread roll with cheese and grilled pineapple. It was supposed to be a vegetarian alternative of meat burgers. As you can guess, it’s already off the menu.
#16 The least…
The least caloric dish are Happy Meals (mainly due to the size of portions). If you are on a diet counting every calorie but still you feel like visit McDonald’s, why don’t you choose a tomato salad (39 kcal) or a McMuffin with egg (275 kcal). The restaurants also offer fresh fruit, carrots or coffee (a small one with milk has got 50 kcal)
#17 … and the most!
Chicken nuggets are a monstrous nutritional bomb. 40 pieces feed you with 1,770 kcal! To burn it, you have to run for 3 hours or keep on walking for 8!
#18 The Clown under different names
Ronald, the red-haired clown, is the symbol of McDonald’s. In Japan, his name is pronounced as Donald, as the Japanese do not have an equivalent of the ‘r’ sound.
#19 Vegetarian revolution
To keep up with the spirit of the times, McDonald’s introduced Lumberjack Burger where the meat burger was replaced with its vegetable equivalent, made of lentil.