Friday, April 15, 2005

Happy McBirthday

Today is the 50th birthday of McDonald's . . . even though the cheapskates did not offer the public any deal, such as maybe 50 cent cheeseburgs or 50 cent fries, here are some interesting facts about this American institution:

- Ray Kroc may have been the founder McDonald's, but he wasn't alone in hatching his idea of fast food burgers . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald were pioneers of McDonald's and the quick service restaurant industry . . . Kroc was the founder of McDonald's Corporation . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald converted their barbecue drive-in with car hops into the world's first McDonald's limited-menu, self-service, drive-in in 1948, in San Bernardino, California . . . in 1954, Ray Kroc was granted exclusive U.S. franchising rights by the brothers . . . he opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955

- McDonald's first mascot was not Ronald McDonald -- it was "Speedee" a smiling chef with a hamburger head

- Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald

- In 1955 a hamburger cost 15 cents and fries were 10 cents

- The famous Big Mac was introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960s operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh

1 comment:

Spastic Goon said...

Cool info, I dig your blog!!