- McDonald’s was founded by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald, in 1940. They opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, as a typical drive-in fast food joint that served barbecue, burgers, fries and shakes. They later simplified their menu and focused on speed and efficiency.
- Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman, became the new owner of McDonald’s in 1961. He was impressed by the success of the McDonald brothers and bought the franchise rights from them for $2.7 million. He expanded the chain to other states and countries and turned it into a global phenomenon.
- McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain. It has over 39,000 locations in more than 120 countries and serves about 69 million customers daily. It sells an estimated 80 hamburgers every minute worldwide and more than 12 million pounds of fried items daily.
- McDonald’s is also the world’s largest toy distributor. It distributes more than 1.5 billion toys every year through its Happy Meals, which were introduced in 1979. Some of the most popular toys include Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels, Barbie dolls and Disney characters.
- McDonald’s has royal connections. Queen Elizabeth II owns a McDonald’s outlet near her residence, the Buckingham Palace, as part of her Crown Estate. She also granted a royal warrant to Coca-Cola, which supplies drinks to McDonald’s.
- McDonald’s has more recognition than the Holy Cross. According to a survey, more people around the world can identify the golden arches of McDonald’s than the Christian symbol of the cross. The logo was designed by architect Stanley Meston in 1953 and was inspired by the shape of the restaurant’s original arch-shaped signs.
- McDonald’s fries are more popular than its burgers. French fries are one of the oldest and most ordered items on the menu, accounting for about a quarter of the chain’s sales. McDonald’s buys about 4.7 billion dollars worth of potatoes every year and sells around 13 billion servings of fries.
- Bill Gates is one of the suppliers of McDonald’s fries. He is the largest private farmland owner in the United States and grows potatoes that are used to make McDonald’s fries. He owns about 269,000 acres of land across 18 states.
- McDonald’s Caesar salad is more fattening than its hamburger. While the hamburger has more calories (250 vs 220), the Caesar salad has more fat (12 g vs 8 g), especially because of the dressings. The salad also has more sodium (650 mg vs 480 mg) and less protein (9 g vs 12 g) than the burger.
- McDonald’s makes around 75 million dollars per day. That’s about $31 billion per year or $2,500 per second. The chain also pays about $1 billion in taxes every year in the United States alone.
- McDonald’s launched limited edition MacCoins to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac. In 2018, customers who bought a Big Mac received a MacCoin that could be redeemed for another Big Mac at any participating location worldwide. There were five designs of MacCoins, each representing a decade from 1968 to 2018.
- Germans can order beer at McDonald’s. In some European countries, such as Germany, France and Spain, McDonald’s serves beer as part of its menu. The beer is usually local or regional brands and costs about $2 per glass.
- The largest McDonald’s restaurant is in Orlando, Florida. It covers an area of 19,000 square feet and has two floors with seating for 1,500 people. It also features a play area with slides, arcade games, video walls and interactive tables.
- McDonald’s is the largest toy distributor in the world. It distributes more than 1.5 billion toys every year through its Happy Meals, which were introduced in 1979. >Some of the most popular toys include Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels, Barbie dolls and Disney characters.
- Some celebrities used to work at McDonald’s before they became famous. Some examples are Shania Twain, Rachel McAdams, Jay Leno, Pink, James Franco and Jeff Bezos. They worked as cashiers, cooks or cleaners at various locations across North America.
- McDonald’s has its own university called Hamburger University. It was founded in 1961 by Ray Kroc to train managers and franchisees on how to run a successful restaurant business. Today, there are seven campuses around the world that offer courses in various languages and topics related to McDonald’s operations.
- The Big Mac Index is a measure of purchasing power parity based on the price of a Big Mac. It was created by The Economist magazine in 1986 as a way to compare the value of different currencies around the world based on how much they can buy of a common good like a Big Mac. According to the latest index (January 2020), Switzerland has the most expensive Big Mac ($6.91), while Lebanon has the cheapest ($1.45).
- McDonald’s does not serve beef in some countries where it is prohibited or unpopular. For example, in India, where cows are considered sacred by Hindus, McDonald’s offers vegetarian burgers made with potato or cheese patties instead of beef. In Israel, where kosher laws forbid mixing meat and dairy products, McDonald’s serves dairy-free burgers with soy cheese instead of regular cheese.
- The McRib is not made of ribs. It is actually made of pork shoulder meat that is ground up and shaped into rib-like pieces using a moldThe meat is then cooked, frozen and shipped to restaurants where it is reheated and served with barbecue sauce and pickles on a bun.
- McDonald’s changed its recipe for fries in 1990. Before that year, McDonald’s used beef tallow (rendered fat) to fry its potatoes, which gave them a distinctive flavor and crispiness. However, due to health concerns and pressure from consumer groups, McDonald’s switched to vegetable oil instead of beef tallow in 1990.
- McDonald’s inspired a sociological theory called “McDonaldization”. It was coined by George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993) to describe how principles of fast-food restaurants pervade global society such as efficiency, calculability.
- McDonald’s was inspired by a sociological theory called “McDonaldization”. It was coined by George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993) to describe how principles of fast-food restaurants pervade global society such as efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. He argued that these principles lead to rationalization, standardization and homogenization of culture and society.
- McDonald’s has a secret menu with items that are not advertised or listed. Some examples are the McGangBang (a McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger), the Land, Sea and Air Burger (a beef patty, a chicken patty and a fish patty on a bun), the Monster Mac (a Big Mac with eight beef patties) and the Apple Pie McFlurry (a McFlurry with apple pie chunks).
- McDonald’s first drive-through was inspired by the military. It opened in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near a military base where soldiers were not allowed to leave their cars while wearing fatigues. The drive-through concept proved to be popular and convenient for customers and soon spread to other locations.
- McDonald’s serves different items and flavors according to local preferences and cultures. For example, in Japan, customers can order a Teriyaki McBurger, a shrimp burger or a green tea McFlurry. In India, customers can order a McAloo Tikki, a potato and pea patty with spices on a bun3. In Hawaii, customers can order a Spam, eggs and rice breakfast platter.
- McDonald’s arches are white in Paris. Paris is the only place in the world where the golden arches of McDonald’s are not golden but white. This is because the city authorities wanted to preserve the historical and aesthetic value of the area where the restaurant is located.
- McDonald’s sells more than one billion Big Macs every year. The Big Mac was invented by Jim Delligatti, a franchisee in Pittsburgh, in 1967. It consists of two beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a special sauce on a sesame seed bun. It is one of the most iconic and popular burgers in the world.
- McDonald’s is the largest employer of minimum wage workers in the United States. >It employs about 1.9 million people worldwide, of which about 850,000 are in the United States. Most of them earn minimum wage or slightly above it.
- McDonald’s tried to make movies before burgers. In 1988, McDonald’s partnered with Orion Pictures to produce Mac and Me, a sci-fi movie about an alien befriending a boy who uses a wheelchair. The movie was heavily criticized for being a rip-off of E.T. and for featuring blatant product placement of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. It was a box office flop and is considered one of the worst movies ever made.
- McDonald’s has its own currency called MacCoins. In 2018, McDonald’s launched limited edition MacCoins to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac. Customers who bought a Big Mac received a MacCoin that could be redeemed for another Big Mac at any participating location worldwide. There were five designs of MacCoins, each representing a decade from 1968 to 2018.
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