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Hey Whyville! This is the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Useless
Information! Last night our family was out to dinner with a few other families,
all fancied up. My father asked a boy, in fifth grade I think, what he was doing
for his big school project. "McDonalds." The boy's mother was shocked and said
that was silly. After all, you couldn't do a whole school project on a bad fast
food restaurant. Right? Well, actually I believe his mother was wrong. You see,
I became intrigued with what McDonald's information was out there. There's quite
a lot, actually. I decided to just limit my research to the history, or origin
of McDonald's. And so it begins.
Now, McDonalds all started from a guy named Ray Kroc. Some might think he was a
bit crazy, but hey, he's the one who's rich now! Anyway, this guy mortgaged his
house, and used all of his life savings to become the only seller of a milk
shake maker called the Multimixer. When Ray was fifty two, and it was 1954, Ray
heard about a McDonald's in California using eight Multimixers at a time. So, he
went to California.
In San Bernadino, California, Ray was amazed at how quickly people were served
at Dick and Mac McDonald's Restaurant. Ray took a bold step and asked Dick and
Mac if they wanted to open up several McDonald's, with eight of his Multimixers
in each. "Who would get to open them for us?" Dick McDonald said. His answer
was, Ray.
So, in 1955, the first McDonald's restaurant was opened in Des Plaines,
Illinois. I know you may be thinking, wasn't the first restaurant Dick and Mac
McDonald's? Well, yes, that was the first restaurant with the name McDonald's,
but the one in Des Plaines was the first restaurant as a chain. It was the first
one with a certain way that things were cooked all across the country, compared
to Dick and Mac McDonald's, where they could do it any way they like.
Now, back to the point. On the opening day, McDonald's earned
$366.12. Keep in mind, this is a long time ago, and that was a lot of money back
then! Now, the Des Plaines restaurant is a museum for McDonald's, and even has
the Multimixer. I have seen it, and I recommend anyone in the area goes and sees
it for themselves. It's quite interesting, even if you don't even like fast food
like me.
Ray was a worker. He constantly said, "If you have time to lean, you have time
to clean." So, that means everyone, including the mangager, must help clean the
restaurant. On the McDonald's website there is a picture that the Chairman of
the Board is cleaning the parking lot at the first McDonald's.
Everyone loves Ronald McDonald! Ronald was first seen in a commercial in 1963,
and was played by Willard Scott. Now, forty years later Ronald is still
extremely popular! "Put a smile on! Put a smile on! Everybody come on! Put a
smile on!"
Now, Jim Deligatti was a smart man! He invented the idea of a Big Mac. It
started in 1968, and it is still going on today. Than the Egg McMuffin came
along, invented by Herb Peterson in 1973. These two things are McDonald's most
bought food items then, and now, too! We really don't change that much, do we?
In 1974, McDonald's and Fred Hill of the Philadelphia Eagles teamed up to build
the Ronald McDonald house. It is a place where families of really sick kids stay
if their child is getting treatments far away from their home.
Then there's the Happy Meal! It started in 1979, and even then, people collected
all the things that came in them. The Happy Meal drew in 20% more customers in
its first month, and 16% of those new customers were kids! (Remember the Teeny
Beanie Babies? I still have mine!)
Now, way far away in Kuwait City, Kuwait, McDonald's opened in 1994. On opening
day, 15,000 customers were lined up outside the store. The drive-through was
seven miles long. Yes, you heard me, errr, read me. Seven miles!
I guess no matter where you are, McDonald's is a hit. Man,
this is making me hungry!
Hope I helped,
Jill20
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