17 Interesting Facts About Fast-Food Chains That You Probably Didn’t Know

The last century has seen a remarkable boom in the fast-food industry, with a Mcdonald's, Pizza Hut, or Subway in every mall, on every corner, and even in gas stations and Wal-Marts! Since we seem to be unable to escape the grasp fast-food has on our stomachs, we could at least know something about where it comes from and what it is. This list will open your eyes to some interesting facts about major fast-food chains.

The Real McDonalds

Ever wonder why McDonald’s is named McDonald’s? Originally a BBQ drive-in restaurant, the multi-billion dollar franchise originated when two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, realized that hamburgers were the best-selling fast food and that assembly-line production would boost their efficiency. However, in the 1950’s, Ray Kroc noticed the brilliance of the brothers’ strategy and bought the business, phasing the brothers out of ownership to further his goals and take the company nation- and now world- wide.

Tale Of The Traveling Chicken

KFC began with Harland Sanders (not yet prestigiously named a “Colonel” by the state of Kentucky) serving what he called “home meal replacements” in his own dining room at the gas station he managed (and lived in). The gas station was heavily visited, as it was just off of the highway, but the opening of I-70 diverted customers away from his business, forcing Sanders to sell; he only profited enough to pay off bills and taxes. Broke, the Colonel traveled around the country to find a restaurant that would sell his chicken, and after finally getting a “yes” from a Pete Harmon in Salt Lake City, Sanders’ chicken had reached over 200 restaurants in less than a decade.

He Started It!

The KFC Colonel took his gas station/cafe seriously, so when he was challenged by a competing gas station worker nearby, a shootout resulted. Although the Colonel did shoot a guy, there were no charges brought against him because he didn’t start the altercation.

Who’s Wendy?

Wendy’s was named after founder Dave Thomas’ fourth child, Melinda Lou Thomas. As a young child, Melinda couldn’t pronounce her name, saying “Wenda” instead, which them became “Wendy”, leading Thomas to name his restaurant Wendy’s.

Stay In School, Kids

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, was a high school dropout, but in 1993 he went back to school for his GED because he didn’t want to send the message that dropping out was a good decision.

Hotdog Bell

Taco Bell actually started out as a hot dog stand. Glen Bell’s hot dog stand was successful, so he incorporated burgers – only a few years before McDonald’s began to boom in the same area. Needless to say, when McDonald’s opened Bell needed to “Think outside the bun”, and his answer was Mexican fast-food.

Business Car

They say some people just don’t know the value of money; even if you don’t agree with that, you’d probably still think it was a pretty big miscalculation for James Monaghan to trade his half of ownership of Domino’s (which he’d bought with his brother as “DomiNick’s” only eight months earlier) to his brother, Tom, for a used Volkswagen Beetle. To put that into perspective, Tom sold 93% of Domino’s for $1 billion dollars a few decades later.

Avoid The Noid

Domino’s has another blunder in it’s past: “The Noid”. “The Noid” was Domino’s mascot in the 80’s, sort of like the “Hamburgular” for McD’s, who went around stealing pizzas, so Domino’s slogan was “Avoid the Noid”. This may have been harmless except for one man: Kenneth Lamar Noid of Georgia. Convinced the pizza place was talking about him, he held two employees hostage at a Domino’s in Atlanta and even forced them to make pizza for him! (No one was injured in the incident, so you can laugh.)

Mc-What?

If you think you’ve seen it all, think again, because you probably missed McDonald’s attempt to compete with dinnertime, the infamous McPizza among the new menu additions. Not only were customers frustrated with long wait times for the new dish, but it’s not like burger joints are experts at making pizza. As you surely guessed, the McPizza (and the rest of McDonald’s attempt at dinner, including lasagna!) was an epic fail.

Poison Pizza

Nearly all major pizza restaurants (Pizza Hut, Domino’s, CiCi’s, Papa John’s, etc.) serve pizzas that contain harmful and toxic ingredients in their crusts, meats, cheeses, sauces, and even toppings. From MSG and hidden MSG additives to trans-fat riddled partially hydrogenated oils and soybean oils, which are likely GMOs (genetically modified organisms). These additives can not only cause such serious conditions as heart disease and cancer in adults, but can also interrupt or inhibit child development. Good thing making pizza from scratch is super simple!

When It All Began…

Opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, White Castle became the first fast-food hamburger chain in America. It was named by co-founders Walter Anderson and Edgar W. “Billy” Ingram, white symbolizing “purity” and caste representing “strength and permanence”.

Jack I. Box

Jack is voiced by Richard “Dick” Sittig, who also directs all of the Jack in the Box commercials (and created the Energizer Bunny!). The actual character of Jack, however, is played by different random guys hired for the job.

Healthy Arby’s

Although Arby’s, first opened in 1964, was far from being the first fast-food chain, it can claim the lead on a few other “firsts” in the industry. In 1991, Arby’s introducted the first low-calorie fast-food sandwiches and salads, and continued making changes to become the first to cut down on artificial additives and fillers. In 2006, Arby’s became the first fast-food chain to call for a (much-needed) ban on trans-fats. I’m thinking Arby’s cares.

Insta-Burger King

First known as “Insta-Burger King”, the restaurant opened to provide a new, faster way to prepare food with the Insta- Broiler. The Insta-Broiler was an oven said to produce 400 burgers an hour! “Insta” was dropped from the name when the Insta-Broiler technique was replaced with a gas flame broiler.

Closed On Sundays

Although perhaps not too surprising, considering that Chick-Fil-A is still family-owned by the Southern Baptists who founded the chain in 1946, it is the only fast-food facility not open on Sundays.

What Do You “Like”?

McDonald’s is the most popular fast-food chain on Facebook, boasting some 44 million likes, far ahead of Subway (27 million), Taco Bell (10 million), and Wendy’s (5 million) combined, just to compare a few.

Subway, The Giant

Although (or maybe because) you won’t find greasy burgers, fried chicken, or fatty shakes in any of their 40,000+ stores, Subway is the largest fast-food chain in the world. The famous sandwich shop will open a store anywhere, it seems, with restaurant #40,000 located at an AppleGreen gas station in Ipswich, England.