As the old saying goes, you are what you eat.
Uh-Oh!
From Egg McMuffins to the first drive-through window,
fast food is an integral part of today's culture. Stay tuned to number one to find
out how many centuries ago fast food restaurants first started making their
mark on the world!
Number 10: Founding Fathers
The story of the founding fathers of the United
States is something we are all taught as children in school. George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton risked their lives to create the United
States of America and are recognized today as the heroes they are. Just as
recognizable, however, whether it's fair or not, are the founders of some of
America's fast food restaurants. John Hancock gave us the Declaration of
Independence, but unfortunately he never gave us a side of fries and a coke with it!
Any discussion about fast food founders have to start with the Colonel
himself, Harland Sanders. Before coming the face and creator of Kentucky Fried
Chicken, young Sanders dropped out of school at the age of 12 and ran away
from home. Eventually he became an attorney, but was ultimately disbarred
after having a fistfight with a client in open court. This would not be Sanders
last time in front of a judge, as he would end up shooting a man in
self-defense who defaced a sign for a Shell station he was operating. After his
charges were dropped, Harland Sanders realized his potential when he turned
his gas station into a local restaurant, where he perfected his famous
combination of 11 herbs and spices for the original recipe.
Despite establishing 600 KFC franchise locations in less than 10 years, the
Colonel was broke, and forced to sell the chicken eatery for 2 million dollars,
while staying on as the face of the company and the brand. Before selling the
fast-food chain in 1964, Colonel Sanders came across to another future restaurant
founder who would ultimately help KFC become the massive company is today with
over 18,000 locations worldwide. Who was that man you ask? Dave Thomas! That's
right...the guy who created Wendy's. Thomas met Sanders during KFC's
expansion into Indiana. An eventual franchise owner,
Thomas helped Sanders improved the brand by simplifying the menu and suggesting
that Sanders appear in the commercials himself. Thomas eventually sold his share
in four franchises he owned for 1.5 million dollars in order to open his own
hamburger restaurant. This was named after his daughter, Melinda Lou "Wendy"
Thomas the restaurant was based on old fashioned hamburgers and classic shakes.
The first restaurant was opened in 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, and became known
for the eye-catching square burger patties which were implemented by Thomas,
himself, so the customers could see the quality of the meat. Today, Wendy's is the
third-largest hamburger restaurant chain with over 6,500 locations in 30
countries. Despite both Harland Sanders and Dave Thomas serving in the military,
neither man reached the rank of colonel. However, both man were awarded as
honorary Kentucky Colonels by the governor of the state. Altogether both
men have appeared in over 1,000 commercials and, technically, that's a
thousand more than both George Washington and John Adams combined!
Number 9: Can you hear me now?
Once called the "greatest invention in the history of mankind,"
well, by me anyway. The drive-through has helped modernize the
restaurant industry overall and changed our perception of fast-food. Before the
idea of the drive-through was thought up, many restaurants depended on sit-down
business or customers eating in their car, via car hops. This required a lot of
time and resources for many restaurants, and ran quite a few of them out of
business...including the early businesses run by the McDonald brothers.
It wasn't until 1947 that the world's first drive-through was created by
Sheldon Cheney, of Red's Giant Hamburg, a hamburger restaurant which was named
The Hamburg because Cheney ran out of room on his giant sign. It crafted the design
after customers began going to faster competitors. The idea was a major hit, and
soon being copied all over the country. While this would seem like a simple idea
today, keep in mind that the man who thought of it also attached magnets to
his soda fountains to magically enhance the flavor. Yeah...that's who
revolutionized the fast-food industry. Today, the drive-thru represents 60% of
all fast-food orders taken. The oldest drive-through restaurants still open
today are In-N-Out Burger as Reds giant Hamburg has been closed for 35
years. Sounds like those magnets didn't help attract new customers! See what I
did there?
Number 8: America's favorite food
Bread is boring. You know it and I know it.
Bread is so boring in fact the man has found new and inventive ways to
make it better for centuries. Adding herbs, oils, vegetables,
meat, and whatever other flavor, has made bread a staple of our diet. However,
perfection was eventually achieved in the heart of Italy with man's greatest
invention...Pizza! Originally invented in 18th century in Naples, Italy, pizza was
a street food that was meant for those with little money. It was cheap and easy
to make. Many Europeans were initially hesitant to eat pizza because of the
addition of tomatoes, which was not native to the continent and actually
thought to be poisonous for over 200 years by its wealthier citizens.
Actually, I know a few people who still think they're poisonous today! The pizza
industry is worth over 700 billion dollars, worldwide. Americans especially
love pizza, as they eat 100 acres of pizza every year! Or 350 slices of pizza
every second. The math behind this country's love of peace is almost
unbelievable. Domino's Pizza, the world's largest pizza delivery chain, will sell 4
million pies alone on Super Bowl Sunday. Combined with their main competitor,
Pizza Hut, they will purchase six percent of all mozzarella cheese sold in the
United States. That's one in every twenty milk cows being dedicated strictly to
those two companies. Wow! I think I need an antacid.
Number 7: Famous advertising campaigns.
Every day, Americans are exposed to marketing and
advertisements meant to send us a message. Buy this, save that, vote this,
watch that...we are exposed to upwards of a thousand advertising messages every
day through television, the internet, and billboards. However, nobody does it better
than the fast food industry. In 2015, almost 6 billion dollars were spent on
marketing by restaurant chains such as Taco Bel, Burger King, and Subway. Every
year we are introduced to new multi-million dollar marketing campaigns,
giving us money makers like "Where's the beef?" and "Finger Lickin' Good," however
no conversation about fast food advertising can be had without introducing
the Clown Prince himself...that's right... Ronald McDonald. This iconic character
was first introduced in 1963 and was portrayed by the Today Show's own
Scott Willard. Originally named Ronald McDonald, The Happy Clown, this future
idol was actually created without any input from the McDonald's Corporation. This
grew into the mascot we know today who, according to one study, is recognized by
96% of all schoolchildren in the United States.
Now remember McDonald's...just because you gave us a burger pushing clown, we
still don't forgive you for the McSpaghetti!
Number 6: You look very familiar.
Fast food has long been stereotyped in the United States by the typical startup job
for young adults. Well this is not statistically supported, as the average
age of fast-food employees is 29 years old, you may still remember a famous face
or two that once asked if you wanted to supersize. From the world of
finance and telecom, to music and film, there's a who's who list of powerful
people who started their careers out with a McJob, using the lessons they
learned to reach new heights. This was the case for the current titleholder of the
world's richest man, Jeff Bezos. The Amazon CEO started his
multibillion-dollar Empire as a grill man in McDonald's, earning minimum wage
it was here that he learned about hard work, responsibility, and the age-old
lesson to never let failure slow you down. Madonna and Queen Latifah both
worked front counters at Dunkin Donuts and Burger King respectively. Even
Academy Award nominated actor Brad Pitt put in his time in the fast food
industry, by handing out flyers in a giant chicken outfit for an El Pollo Loco
in Hollywood. This hardly seems fitting for someone voted the world's sexiest
man in 1995 and 2000. Do you need any more examples of our best and most
beautiful learning important lessons in responsibility and diligence? How about
Barack Obama? That's right...the 44th President of the United States had a job
as a teenager in a Honolulu Hawaii location of Baskin-Robbins. After
beginning his political career, the then senator reminisced that he had no idea
how hard it was going to be to work at an ice cream shop, but he says he carried
those lessons with him to Washington. perhaps we've discovered the key to
getting politicians to work together. Banana splits for everyone!
Number 5: Let's get it started.
Every day, 50 million people are served
fast food from 160,000 locations all over the country. Despite being behemoth
companies now, almost every fast-food restaurant today got its start as an
underdog trying to show how delicious their new ideas were. Many even causing
their owners and founders to go broke before eventually changing the way we
all eat. White Castle, for example, the world's first fast-food
hamburger restaurant, opened in 1921 from $700 of borrowed money today there
are 420 White Castle locations with a net revenue of over 600 million dollars!
Papa John started his future pizza empire in the broom closet of his father's Indiana
tavern, getting his startup money by selling his car for only $1,600. That
gamble resulted in a worldwide Empire of 4,700 locations, becoming the official
pizza sponsor of the NFL and, most importantly, getting to meet Peyton
Manning! Clearly that's what's most important!
Number 4: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
Lady Justice is one of the most important symbols in our
country, as she stands for balance, authority, and impartiality. This has
brought the idea that everybody is treated fair and equally in a court of
law. Then the hot coffee lawsuit came around and things didn't seem so fair.
When all was said and done, the infamous hot coffee lawsuit (also known as Liebeck
versus McDonald's restaurants) has long been mocked by the people of the United
States. The back story is a woman spilled coffee, like we all do, and filed suit
against the largest fast-food restaurant chain in the world. She was awarded 2.86
million dollars, and became the target of scorn from almost every American...even
being spoofed by a Seinfeld episode! But, how much do we actually know about
this famous case? In 1992, 79 year old Stella Liebeck
had joined her grandson for a 49 cent coffee through the McDonald's
drive-through. The coffee cup, that she admitted was her fault for spilling, was
at an unbelievable temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit when it left the
window! This was so hot it it caused third-degree burns to 16% of her body,
including her buttocks, her thighs, and she ended up in the hospital for eight
days...which required major surgery and she almost died.
Hmm. Maybe we should all feel a little guilty! Well McDonald's didn't. When Stella
was left with over $20,000 in medical bills, she asked the fast food chain to simply
help pay. Their response? An $800 settlement offer. When this case
eventually went to trial, the jury awarded Stella
only two days worth of McDonald's coffee sales as payment. The ensuing reaction
against Stella that followed, though, was a carefully crafted marketing plan,
brought about by the McD's legal team in order to make her seem like a money
hungry scammer. And it worked! Congressman even introduced legislation
to keep this kind of lawsuit from happening again, all thanks to lobbying
from industry leaders. At times like this, I think Lady Justice may feel just a
little sick to her stomach.
Number 3: Tthe most important meal of the day.
Every morning, we wake up and start our day with a balanced breakfast. To help
provide the energy we'll need, favorites like eggs, bacon, and orange juice have
become commonplace on our tables. But, you know what would go really great with
that balanced meal? Make those items bite-sized and smoosh them between two
maple syrup flavored buns, branded with a McDonald's logo! That probably woulda
sounded unappetizing just a decade ago but today, this and other similar
breakfast items account for 25% of all McDonald's sales. This originally started
after the development of the Egg McMuffin, which was created by a
franchise owner in Santa Barbara, California in 1972. With the success of
the overall breakfast menu for the corporate giant, many other fast-food
chains have followed suit. Taco Bell, with their kidney-shattering
breakfast taco, has increased sales by 10 percent through breakfast alone since
starting the service in 2014. With other restaurants, such as Wendy's,
Jack-in-the-Box, and Burger King also waking up earlier, fast food chains are
expected to serve upwards of 30% of Americans at least once a week. The
convenience is great, but let's just assume your physician may not be pleased
when you tell him where you finally started eating breakfast!
Number 2: Kids are our future.
"Children are our most valuable resource." This famous quote,
originally stated by president Herbert Hoover, has long been a repeated
war cry of many successful politicians including John F Kennedy and George W
Bush. Well, this has also become the business model for the entire fast-food
industry, Originally starting with Ronald McDonald, the fast-food giant saw
the genius in marketing to children. This McBlitzkrieg on the mind of children
was highlighted in the introduction of the legendary happy meal in 1979. Created
by a franchise owner, in Guatemala, in the mid-1970s as the "Menu Ronald," this toy
free meal was meant to feed children more efficiently in the South American
nation. Once this idea hit corporate executives in Chicago, however, it was not
long before the first fast food menu item conceived specifically for children
was in McDonald's locations all over the United States. The mainstay toy would
follow suit shortly. This concept helped change family dining forever.
in 1989, the concept of playgrounds inside the restaurant was implemented
after the success of fellow kid friendly chain, Chucky Cheese. And, clearly, this
system has been a rounding success as 30 to 39 percent of all
children are expected to eat fast food on any given day!
Number 1: Looking towards the future.
Since the opening of the first All Night Noodle stands in
ancient China occurred around 25 AD, the fast-food industry has certainly changed
and evolved with time. Today, it is Americana personified, and a way of life
affecting almost every person in the country in one way or another. But, if
this list has taught us anything, it's that the version of convenient dining
that people knew in the 1950s is completely different from today. So, what
does that mean for the future? Currently Americans spend over 100 billion dollars
every year on fast food. Surprisingly, that is enough money to end world hunger
for years! With advanced studies in medicine and nutrition, it is common
knowledge that fast food is bad for you and should rarely be eaten. This
information has led to the introduction of many new menu items such as salads,
yogurts, and smaller drink sizes that are marketed as "healthy choices." However
the fact is that a salad at Burger King actually has more sugar than some sodas!
And Pizza Hut was the largest buyer of Kale, simply to use it as an interior
decoration. Regardless, many American see these as positive steps forward.
Perhaps people will shift in a different direction such as with restaurants like
Chipotle, Qdoba Mexican Grill, and Baja Fresh, these chains (labeled as fast
casual dining) have exploded in popularity in the last decade.
These restaurants have given diners a different choice of where to
eat, while offering simple menus, made with little to no chemicals, and being
cooked right in front of the customers. With over 2,000 locations and 3.9
billion revenue annually, perhaps Chipotle and similar eateries are
the future. Or, perhaps, we'll just invent flying cars to make the drive-through faster!
Where do you think fast food is heading? Do you feel a change is needed
in how we eat? Let us know in the comments below. Also, don't forget to hit
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We'll see you next time!
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