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30 Fast Food Facts That Are, In Fact, Digestible

Relax, tummy. Our brains can digest these nuggets

30 Fast Food Facts That Are, In Fact, Digestible

October 25, 2023

Fast-food chains divvy up the globe like their own personal game of Risk. And they love walking that fine line between feeding us and poisoning us. But as long as they keep dropping these hilarious little fun facts along the way? All is forgiven.

Read on — we promise your brain won’t be running to the bathroom after consuming these transfat-less tidbits.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

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The first doughnut machine was made in 1920 to meet the demand following WW1. Adolph Levitt, a Jewish refugee who came to America fleeing czarist Russia, designed the ma- chine and began selling fried doughnuts from his Harlem bakery in New York City. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

29

Every waist-expanding fast food item we love is thanks to a food scientist named Tom Ryan. Не invented Jif Peanut Butter, Pizza Hut's dou- ble-stuffed pizza, the Mc- Griddle, McDonald's fruit & yogurt parfait, Smashburg- er, the Meat-lovers Pizza and McDonald's entire Dol- lar Menu. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

28

A woman being held hostage used the Pizza Hut app in order to receive help. 50.00 THANKS FOR YOUR ORDER TOWN - and DELIVERY TRACKER WERE MAKING YOUR ORDER UP MIT the 2014 MALIS When her captor let her use a phone to order a pizza, she included Please help. Get 911 to me in the comments. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

27

In the '60s, McDonald's was going to abandon their famous arches but... McDonald's Restaurant McDonald's McDonald's on KING NEW a design consultant told them to keep them as Freudian symbol of a pair of nourishing breasts. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

26

McDonald's UK delivery trucks are fueled by grease from their stores. M McDonald's They've been doing it since 2007. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

25

There's a McDonald's in Guantanamo Bay. - McDonald's BILLIONS AND BILLIONS SERVED coonald's ! DRIVE-THRU Yup, that military base. There's also a bowling alley, a kickball league, and a water slide. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

24

In the '70s, the Filet-0-Fish briefly had a mascot. PhilA.O'Fish TM says: For a surprisingly good taste... AA TM His name? Phil А. O'Fish, of course. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Arby's is a play on RB for Raffel Brothers, the founders. Arby's ROAST Beer Sandwich IS DELICIOUS. Arbyis Leroy and Forrest Raffel almost named it Big Tex. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Subway has the most locations of any fast food chain. SUBWAY REGUTER 13H OPEN SUB na With 43,800 stores in 110 countries, it beats out McDonald's and Starbucks. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

21

There's a Starbucks in the CIA Headquarters. For the safety of the officers, baristas don't use or write down customers' names. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Houston Police used Whataburger order numbers to mark crime scenes. WHATABURGER WHATABURGER. 67 33 They were told to stop in 2017 after an image went viral. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

19

White Castle 1921 Castle 5t White Castle 5 eler Established in 1921 HAMBURGERS Buy em by the Sack CASTL GRACKED COM White Castle was the first American fast-food chain. Hamburgers were 5 cents and quickly served to exact specifications, which would later be copied by other chains. — Source

18

Subway 1965 *Petes SUBWAY Ril KITCHEN CRACKED.COM Fred DeLuca was 17-years-old when his family friend Dr. Peter Buck gave him a $1000 loan to open a sandwich shop to help fund his college. It was originally called Pete's Submarines.

17

Burger King 1953 CRACKED.COM Inspired by McDonald's, the founders bought the rights to the Insta-Broiler, a special grill, which inspired their resturaunt's name Insta-Burger King. It was franchised the following year. — Source

16

Starbucks 1971 CRACKED.COM The three founders were college friends who were instructed how to roast by Peet's Coffee and Tea founder. The company's name was picked out from Moby Dick...it almost was named Pequod.

15

Dairy Queen 1940 DAIRY QUEEN CRACKED.COM In 1938, to test a new soft serve technology, Sherb Noble of Sherb's ran a deal of all-you-can-eat ice cream for 10 cents. In 1940, Noble opened a Dairy Queen, that specialized in soft-serve. — Source

14

Pizza Hut 1958 PIZZA HUT CRACKED.COM Brothers Frank and Dan Carney borrowed $600 from their mom to open a pizzeria. They came up with the name Pizza Hut because their sign only had room for 8 letters. — Source

13

Dunkin' 1948 Dunkin Dounto ORIGINAL DUNKIN' LOCATION - ESTABLISHED 1950 CRACKED.COM William Rosenberg opened a donut shop originally called Open Kettle. Donuts were five cents while coffee was 10 cents. — Source

12

Wendy's 1969 WENDY'S WHO OLD OLD FASHIONED FASHIONED HAMBURGERS CRACKED COM After working for years at KFC, Dave Thomas wanted a mascot for the hamburger chain he was opening. His daughter Wendy's name worked the best so he took a photo and the business began. — Source

11

Chipotle 1993 Chipolle CINEMA GRAPHICS THE ULTIMATE POSTER SHOP CRACKED COM GOILL Steve Ells was working as a chef when he opened a burrito stand as a low-risk investment to support his dream of a full-scale restaurant. Не got a loan of $80,000 from his dad. — Source

10

The largest McDonald's restaurant isn't in the U.S. --it's actually in Moscow. M The restaurant, on Pushkin Square, opened in 1990 after 14 years of negotiations, and seated 700 people (and they queued for hours to get in). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

9

McDonald's has a surprisingly massive influence on the apple industry. The consumption of sliced apples in the U.S. went up by more than 3x since McD's put them on the menu in 2004, and McD's now sells over 10% of U.S. sliced apples. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Burger King's sex toys Only on valentines Only from 6 PM BURGER KING Adults Meal 18+ Nestle B+ CRACKED.COM For a few brief, sensual hours in 2017, ВК locations in Israel offered Adult Meals, which came with the mildest sex toys known to man. — Source

7

McDonald's keeps giving out oral hygiene products MAXIMUM FLUORIDE PROTECTION BY A TOOTHPASTE NEW سطنية Colgate Winter- fresh NET WT. 1.4 OZ. MFP. FLUORIDE GEL Gel HTR DOLD AVGDO SAVE 15° hnice SI REACH YOUTH it TOOTHBRUSH STATES 15 24 KIDS CRACKED.COM They gave out toothpaste and toothbrushes in Happy Meals across the US in 1982. A decade later, they brought the despicable practice to Australia. In 2014, kids got free tooth swag just for showing up to any Wisconsin location. — Source

6

The first McDonald's drive-thru opened next to a military base in Arizona. 5 McDonald's SERVICE SYSTEM HAMBURGERS McDonald's The have Sold OVER 1 MILLION Soldiers at the base couldn't show up in public in a work or duty uniform, so a drive-thru was set up to allow them to buy at McDonald's anyway. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

5

McDonald's replaced its coffee stirrers purely because of cocaine. People were actually using them to snort cocaine off of, and McD didn't want their product to be associated with that, so they redesigned them. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

4

McDonald's McSalad Shakers Grilled Chef Chicken Caesar Garden Props to McDonald's for attempting to make salads fun, but there's a reason we don't normally eat salads out of cups. This stayed on the menu for three years, not bad for a healthier option. CRACKED.COM — Source

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2

LITTLE CAESAR'S Little Caesar's PIZZA TREAT CHICKEN-FISHSHRIMP CARRY OUTS-DELIVERY MINUTE SERVICE Little Caesars 1959 GRAGKED.COM The Little Caesar's mascot has remained almost entirely unchanged since the 50's, even keeping his tuft of exposed chest hair (Yum!). What is disturbing is the inclusion of FISH and SHRIMP anywhere near my pizza treat. No thank you. — Source

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