Weird McDonald’s Facts. From the golden arches being more recognisable than the Christian cross to getting married at a Mickey D’s, join us as we take a look at 10 weird facts about McDonald’s you never knew.
10. The Beginning
InvestorsIn 1940, Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s in San Bernardino, California as a BBQ restaurant. They switched to burgers and fries about 8 years later. In 1955, Ray Kroc visited the restaurant and was impressed by their efficiency and success. He bought franchise rights from the brothers and opened the first franchise in 1955. This was the beginning of the McDonald’s success story, a small, inconspicuous fast-food restaurant that went from humble beginnings to being one of the most influential business entities in history.
9. 100 Billion Burgers
NewPageBooksHow many McDonald’s hamburgers have you eaten in your entire lifetime? Could you count it? Maybe not. If you’re an average Westerner it’s practically impossible to count how many times you’ve visited McDonald’s in your lifetime. But it’s actually on record how many burgers McDonald’s has sold in its entire business history – over 100 billion burgers. Yes, that’s right. The world famous fast-food chain has sold over a 100 billion burgers as of August 2016. The United States alone consumes one billion pounds of McDonald’s beef in a year. That equals about 5.5 million cows.
8. The McDonald’s Fry
HuffingtonPostMcDonald’s is also famous for their fries. Since 1948, McDonald’s have sold over 4 trillion French fries. They’re also one of the United States’ largest potato buyers and consume 3.4 billion pounds of potatoes globally every year.
7. The World Over
DailyMailThe world currently has 196 countries. You’ll find McDonald’s in 119 of these countries. A staggering 61%! Of the remaining countries that don’t host McDonald’s, some have banned their presence. These countries include North Korea, Bolivia, Macedonia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Iceland, Yemen, Bermuda, Montenegro, and Kazakhstan.
In India, a country where the majority of the population doesn’t eat beef or pork, McDonald’s has 179 countrywide restaurants.
Globally, McDonald’s feeds about 68 million people every day, that’s more than the entire population of the United Kingdom. Their biggest market outside the USA is Japan with around 3000 McDonald’s restaurants.
6. Chemical Controversies
DailyPakistanFor years McDonald’s have been allegedly using harmful chemicals used in fertilizers, paints, polishes and plastics in their fries, oils and patties.
The famous McWrap has a boggling 121 ingredients. Some of these include trans fats, and chemicals on the FDA watch list.
The Big Mac has 18 additives, while the cheeseburger has 17 additives. Researchers have found that these harmful ingredients can exacerbate hyperactivity in children.
Other harmful additives present in McDonald’s food include: Propylene Glycol and Calcium Silicate which can be found in their sauces and salts. These chemicals are in building products such as roof tiling, cement and aircraft anti-freeze.
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