It has been 75 years since McDonald’s first opened its doors to the public, and it has since become one of the most renowned and widely loved fast-food junctions across the world! Started by Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940, McDonald’s is the result of two brothers’ determination to make it out of the Great Depression – a venture, we daresay, that worked out pretty well for the rest of us.
But despite several of us loudly proclaiming our loyalty to McDonald’s, it is unlikely that most of us are familiar with these facts about McDonald’s – some of which will definitely stun you!
But despite several of us loudly proclaiming our loyalty to McDonald’s, it is unlikely that most of us are familiar with these facts about McDonald’s – some of which will definitely stun you!
1. McDonald’s very first products were not hamburgers; they were hot dogs!
Think McDonald’s and you think their famous burgers. But here’s a little something for you: McDonald’s began as a hot-dog stand, with brothers Mac and Dick McDonald, who established it in an attempt to make a living in Depression-torn America in Arcadia, California, in 1937 – an idea that was inspired by a nearby hot dog stand and its apparent success. Three years down the line, in 1940, they shifted base to San Fernandino, naming their little hot dog stand “McDonald’s Barbeque”, which they temporarily shut down in 1948 with the aim of making things better and faster. They reopened with a simpler menu that included burgers, fries and milkshakes – something of a preview to McDonald’s as we know it today.
2. A Bacon McDouble Cheeseburger contains lesser calories than a McDonald’s Southwest Salad.
But it’s a salad! And salads are a much healthier option than a cheeseburger, right? Not really. See, a McDonald’s Southwest Salad contains 480 calories; a Bacon McDouble Cheeseburger, on the other hand, contains 440 calories. The salad also has a higher fat percentage than the cheeseburger, with the former having 24g of fat, while the latter contains 22g. Still think the salad is a healthier choice?
3. Every 14.5 hours, a new McDonald’s restaurant is opened.
4. Each day, more than 68 million people eat at McDonald’s; that is more than the aggregate population of the U.K.
Population of the U.K.: 63 million (approx.)
Number of people that eat at McDonald’s every day: 68 million.(source)
Number of people that eat at McDonald’s every day: 68 million.(source)
Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?
5. Winners of the million-dollar prize in the McDonald’s monopoly game are paid $50,000 per year for 20 years.
6. McDonald’s’ golden arches are one of the most recognized signs across the world: even more than the cross.
7. McDonald’s’ daily revenue is about US$76 million.
That’s about $28.1 billion each year!
8. Pizza was a famous McDonald’s product in the ’70s.
This experiment started with their McPizza and McDonald’s Pizza – both different variants which found their way to test-market stores on interstate highways near Milwaukee and Madison, then to restaurants in Canada as a family-sized and later, personal-sized pizza. Although it was discontinued in most restaurants in 2000 because of the long time it took to cook it (11 minutes!), many variations – such as India’s famous “Pizza McPuff” – still carry the legacy of the McPizza.
9. McDonald’s has over 80,000 graduates in Hamburgerology from their Hamburger University!
Oh yes, that’s very much a legit degree: in the ’60s, people were required to complete a diploma course in Hamburgerology from theUniversitas McDonald’s Hambergerensis, or the Hamburger University, in order to work at McDonald’s. The Hamburger University is now McDonald’s training facility.
10. A website by McDonald’s advised its workers to avoid fast food.
McDonald’s, on its McResources Line site, which aimed at providing advice to the employees, posted an illustration that advised the employees to avoid fast food, and opt for healthier choices like a submarine sandwich, salad, and water. The site has since been shut down, following severe scrutiny from people across the world. Irony at its best.(source)
11. The Big Mac is used as an informal economic index that helps compare purchasing power between currencies and countries.
Imagine the power that this burger has! Each year, “The Economist” publishes the “Big Mac Index” to measure the PPP (purchasing power parity) between two countries, and how current market exchange rates lead to the cost of goods being the same in different countries. “The Economist” says – ‘Burgernomics was never intended as a precise gauge of currency misalignment, merely a tool to make exchange-rate theory more digestible’, and we believe them.
12. Iceland does not have a single McDonald’s outlet.
In 2009, the three outlets in Iceland shut down due to the country’s financial crisis which made operations in the McDonald’s franchise too expensive. What a pity that McDonald’s said that they have no intention of returning to the island country again.(source)
13. Of all the sesame seeds grown in Mexico, 75% end up on McDonald’s hamburger buns.
14. The farthest you can be from a McDonald’s outlet in the U.S. is 107 miles.
Crave a Big Mac? If the result of an experiment conducted by Stephen Von Worley is to be believed, you’re never too far from a McDonald’s outlet if you’re in the U.S.: in fact, he found the farthest distance between two outlets to be 107 miles.(source)
15. Several McDonald’s outlets in European countries serve beer.
Ah, beer! In keeping with popular sentiment, McDonald’s serves beer in several countries in Europe, such as France and Germany, although it has been discontinued in several outlets in the latter.(source)
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