When
I was a kid, we never ate out at a restaurant. Mom's
cooking was great, however, it would be a special treat if
someone brought home carryout. I remember Dad once in a
while bringing home a sack of hamburgers from Bray's (13
for $1), which was great, but every once in a while, one
of the big guys (my older brothers) would bring home Big
Macs from McDonalds which was really cool!
As
you all know, McDonald’s is an iconic American fast food
establishment. Here is a little history...
Richard and Maurice McDonald started their business by opening a hot dog stand in Arcadia, California in the late 1930s. In 1940, they opened a drive-in barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California that they turned into a burger restaurant eight years later. By 1954, they had sold 21 franchises. Ray Kroc, who they hired to be their franchise agent, helped them launch over 200 additional locations in the 1950s before buying the business from the brothers for $2.7 million in 1961.
Ronald McDonald,
known then as “the Hamburger-happy clown,” was portrayed
by NBC weatherman Willard Scott (see video below) debuted in a commercial in 1963, although the actor was recast a few years later. Happy Meals debuted in 1977 and have included some kind of toy ever since their inception. (Because of this, McDonald’s is actually the world’s largest distributor of toys!) Today, McDonald’s continues to be a massively popular American chain restaurant with a presence all over the globe.
It is no longer a special treat like when I was a kid, as
lots of kids get it fairly regularly as a quick on the go
meal.
SOME
QUICK McFACTS...
It all started with hot dogs
The company’s original founders, Richard and Maurice McDonald, opened a hot dog stand near the Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, California, in the late 1930s, the New York Times reports. In 1940, they opened a drive-in barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California, that they transformed into a burger joint in 1948.
One in American workers worked
at McDonald’s
According to the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, nearly one in eight workers in the U.S. have worked at a McDonald’s at one point in their lives.
Celebrities who have worked at McDonald’s include: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rachel McAdams, Sharon Stone, Jay Leno, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, James Franco, Pink and Seal among many, many others.
The original Ronald McDonald was let go because of his weight
Today weatherman Willard Scott
(video above) portrayed the original Ronald McDonald, then known as “the Hamburger-happy clown” in a commercial that debuted in 1963. Scott’s depiction of Ronald McDonald was such a hit that in 1966 the company hatched plans to cast doubles who could make appearances nationwide. Uncertain they’d be able to find a large group of potential Ronalds with Scott’s stocky build, the company let the original Ronald go and cast Bev Bergeron, who played Ronald in TV ads until 1968.
McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys
Happy Meals make up 20 percent of McDonalds sales.
Each Happy Meal has included a toy of some sort since it first debuted with a meal built around a 600-calorie burger in 1977.
McDonald’s Hamburger University can be harder to get into than Harvard
The first Hamburger University was founded in the basement of a McDonald’s in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, in 1961, according to the company’s website. To date, more than 275,000 people have graduated from the training program that is offered at seven campuses worldwide in places like Tokyo, Munich, Shanghai and of course Illinois, where it all began. The campus in Shanghai accepts less than 1 percent of applicants for each term, according to Bloomberg – Harvard University’s acceptance rate is 5.9 percent.
The company’s original founders sold McDonald’s for $2.7 million
The McDonald brothers had sold 21 franchises by 1954, when they hired then milkshake mixer salesman Ray Kroc to be their franchise agent. Over the next five years, Kroc launched more than 200 additional locations and then bought the entire business from the brothers for $2.7 million in 1961, the BBC reports.
Some of its salads have more calories than the burgers
The Southwest Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Salad has 520 calories – more than double the amount of calories in a classic hamburger (250). For comparison, the salad also has more calories than a double cheeseburger (430) and McDouble (380).
Locations outside the U.S. offer some seriously out-there foods
In Colombia, you can try the Pineapple Oreo McFlurry and in China you can wake up with the sausage and egg twisty pasta breakfast. McDonald’s opened its first meat-free restaurant in the northern Indian city of
Amritsar, which is home to a Sikh temple where meat is banned, the Week reports.
If you live in the United States, you’re never more than 115 miles away from a McDonald’s
According to Data Pointed, no matter where you are in the continental U.S., you’re never more than 115 miles away from a McDonald’s location. The farthest point away from any McDonald’s location (AKA the McFarthest Spot) is a patch of desert in Northern Nevada near the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge.
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This is what we wore for Halloween. We couldn't breathe or even see,
but we still came home with a pillowcase full of candy!
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