McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant chain in 2024, is known for its exceptional menus and innovative foods.
However, this fast food chain, which serves over 70 million people, has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
The iconic fast food joint announced the acquisition of Alonyal Limited, which owns and operates 225 restaurants in Israel, due to a worldwide boycott over the Israel-Palestine war, aiming to regain its sales, according to the Associated Press.
This franchise of McDonald’s, which has been operating in Israel for over 30 years, faced controversy in October when it announced on social media that it was supplying free meals to Israeli soldiers.
Since then, the most beloved fast food joint has faced boycotts in the Middle East, in Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, and even Western countries like France, where a large Muslim population resides.
In light of these incidents, let’s recap some surprising McDonald’s facts that perhaps not even its most loyal consumers are aware of.
Did you know it was originally a barbecue joint?
When Richard and Maurice McDonald, the brothers, founded the original McDonald’s in San Bernardino, California, 84 years ago in 1940, they first started it off as a BBQ joint.
At present, the joint stands as a museum for historical references.
The McDonald brothers shifted their menu to burgers, shakes, potato chips, and pie eight years later. Their first menu had only nine items on it.
The brothers bought several multi-mixers to increase their productivity and sales, and their popularity grew.
When multi-mixer salesperson Ray Kroc was intrigued by McDonald’s popularity and efficiency, he purchased franchise rights from the McDonald brothers and opened his first franchise in 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois.
The Filet-O-Fish was created because of religion
A Cincinnati franchisee created a new sandwich after becoming concerned about losing business on Fridays during Lent, when many Catholics avoided meat.
Since its 1962 launch, the Filet-O-Fish has been an everyday item on the menu.
The sole distinction of the item is that it was first produced using halibut, then cod for some years, and currently, wild-caught Alaska Pollock that has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
McDonald’s first drive-through was inspired by the military
Even though the drive-through was not an uncommon idea during the 1970s, McDonald’s preferred counter service and the local diner vibe and delayed this popular service until 1975, when a McDonald’s owner in Sierra Vista, Arizona, realised that sales were being impacted as it did not have the drive-through system.
What actually happened? Sierra Vista was and is home to many individuals who worked and resided at adjacent Fort Huachuca.
The fort’s regulations on military etiquette prohibited military officials who were on duty from being seen in public in their uniforms, which made a sit-down lunch difficult.
Also, when dressed in uniform, soldiers could not exit their vehicles. They could, however, grab lunch and go without anyone noticing. Hence, the revenue of Sierra Vista’s McDonald’s joint was declining.
When the owner understood the reasons behind the revenue decline, he quickly acted to install a drive-through window, which started a new chapter in drive-through history for McDonald’s.
McDonald’s Coca-Cola is genuinely unique
A few discerning diners think that McDonald’s Coca-Cola tastes better than other locations.
Well, their suspicions could be accurate; because, while other fast food chains ship their Coke syrup in plastic bags, McDonald’s uses stainless steel tanks to keep it fresh.
Did you know that the golden arches of McDonald’s might have a secret sexual meaning?
Did you know McDonald’s management nearly phased out the iconic Golden Arches in the 1960s? But we now see them as a popular emblem. So what happened?
Interestingly, Louis Cheskin, the design consultant McDonald’s employed, was a great admirer of Sigmund Freud’s theories and he theorized that McDonald’s should not opt out of this logo because the arches had a twofold meaning influenced by Freud.
According to him, individuals are unconsciously reminded of a massive pair of boobs by the design of the arches.
He asserted that McDonald’s was being subtly drawn to customers by the logo, citing the age-old “sex-sells” defence.
As per Cheskin’s assertion in “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,” the arches stand for “mother McDonald’s breasts.”
People were allegedly persuaded to consume McDonald’s rather than a home-cooked dinner by this “maternal” element of the emblem.
Well, it appears that this strange justification was successful. Not only are people drawn to this joint but it is said that the Golden Arches are the most recognizable sign in the world, even more so than the cross.
Crazy right?
England’s Queen was a McDonald’s owner
Would you believe it if you ever heard that the Queen of England, especially Queen Elizabeth II, launched a McDonald’s joint in 2015?
Well, even though she didn’t actually open it herself, technically she owned the grandiose franchise at Oxfordshire’s Banbury Gateway Shopping Park since it is situated on property that is a part of the $34 billion Crown Estate.
Wouldn’t it be grand if she were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony? Well, following the Queen’s demise, Charles III is presumably now the Burger King owner.
Several of the celebrities you love have worked at McDonald’s
Many popular celebrities and actors—names you will frown when you hear their names—had to put on their uniforms and clock in at McDonald’s before they could attend award events.
Among them is Jeff Bezos—yes, you heard it right. The Amazon founder who practically took over the world as being the world’s richest man once was a McDonald’s employee.
One summer as a teenager, he worked there as a cook. He claims that working there taught him how to rapidly crack a large number of eggs with just one hand.
Among other celebrities who worked at McDonald’s are Rachel McAdams, P!nk, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Sharon Stone, and James Franco.
McDonald’s is found in only four African nations
There are less than 400 McDonald’s restaurants in Africa out of the more than 40,000 McDonald’s restaurants globally.
Actually, there are just four countries in Africa that have at least one McDonald’s restaurant: South Africa, Mauritania, Morocco, and Egypt.
McDonald’s is the biggest distributor of toys
Given that toys are included in 20% of McDonald’s meals—5,000 Happy Meals per minute, on average—that means that 1.5 billion toys are sold annually worldwide.
As a result, McDonald’s is now the world’s biggest distributor of toys, selling even more than Mattel and Hasbro.
You’ll find McDonald’s in every imaginable shape and size
McDonald’s can be found in a lot of unusual places besides the mall, airport, storefront, and standalone restaurants that you’ve undoubtedly seen.
A McDonald joint is located in a more than 170-year-old colonial estate in Freeport, Maine.
In a mansion in Hyde Park, New York, there is another McDonald’s that dates back more than 200 years!
The Roswell, New Mexico, McDonald’s is housed in a structure fashioned like a UFO.
However, there is a rather unusual one in New Zealand which is a tourist favourite—it features seats inside an aeroplane!
Did you know each McNugget has a name?
Although they come in different shapes, McDonald’s McNuggets are not as unique as you may think.
McDonald’s has decided to restrict the shape options to four for quality control purposes and has even given them internal names—the boot, the bone, the bell, and the ball.
McDonald’s has their own Hogwarts for their employees called Hamburger University
It may sound unbelievable, but there is a training institution called Hamburger University that McDonald’s truly runs.
It has moved from its former underground location in one of the restaurants to a posh structure on the lot where Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios once stood.
There are even campuses all over the world!
The legend of McDonald’s Gold Card is in fact—True!
Once believed only in urban legend, the reality of the McDonald’s Gold Card—good for unlimited free food for life—has been validated to be true.
Few people are known to own these rare cards and those that do tend to be wealthy individuals who can easily purchase unlimited McDonald’s meals.
Among these notable individuals are Rob Lowe, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet.
McDonald’s wasn’t the first of its kind
In 1940, the McDonald brothers established the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
Even though it’s now 84 years old, McDonald‘s isn’t the first burger joint.
The distinction of being the first hamburger chain goes to White Castle, which was established in 1921.
A&W also existed before McDonald’s; it opened as a stand shop in 1919 and began serving hamburgers and root beer in 1923.
A&W and White Castle were thus fast food pioneers before McDonald’s.