About

McDonald's is an American hamburger fast food restaurant chain, and the largest fast food restaurant chain in the world. The company's current headquarters resides in Oak Brook, Illinois^[1].

History & Impact

The company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth. American Ray Kroc^[4] would turn the relatively small company into the largest fast-food chain in the world and buy the company from the brothers in 1961. McDonald's global influence has been one of the defining factors in globalization^[5] and the spread of the "American way of life"^[6]. It is currently the largest hamburger fast food restaurant chain in terms of global locations and 3rd largest restaurant chain overall with 32,400 locations falling behind Subway with 40,000+ locations, as well as KFC, "Taco Bell", and "Pizza Hut" with a combined total of 37,000 locations; KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut are all owned by "Yum! Brands".

Online Relevance

Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald is an official mascot that presents the McDonald's chain. It has been used in various commercials and tv shows.

Lol, Internet

Lol, Internet is a phrase that is commonly used to emphasize the idea that the internet, and arguments occur within it, should not be taken too seriously. The phrase is often paired with a gif of Ronald McDonald driving a car while saying said phrase.

What the Fuck am I Reading?

What the fuck am I reading? refers to a reaction image of Ronald McDonald reading a Death Note. The image is commonly used on 4chan as a way of expressing disliking one someone else's post.

McNuggies

McNuggies refers to an illustration of McDonald’s character Grimace posing in a seductive manner and asking the question, “What’s wrong, Ronald-kun? Could it be you’re craving my McNuggies?” presumably in reference to his prominently featured posterior. The illustration has spawned a number of edits featuring characters from a various number of subcultures.

Balancing Sasuke

Balancing Sasuke refers to a photo fad in which owners of a McDonald's Happy Meal toy based off of Naruto character Sasuke Uchiha try to balance various objects atop the head and underside of said toy.

#McDStories

#McDStories was a promotional Twitter hashtag created by McDonalds in January 2012. The purpose of the hashtag was for users to share fond memories but was instead filled with tweets consisting of criticism and negativity towards the fast-food chain.

Insane Set

Insane Set is a series of MAD videos which reuses content of a Japanese McDonald's commercial. The original commercial was later featured on the web series Equals Three by RayWilliamJohnson, which caused the videos to be spread to a western audience.

McDonald’s "Happy" Mascot

McDonald’s "Happy" Mascot is an anthropomorphic Happy Meal box originally introduced to French McDonald's franchises in 2009, and later in the United States in May 2014. Upon its American debut, the character became a target of online mockeries for its creepy facial expression.

Ran Ran Ru

Ran Ran Ru ( らんらんるー or ランランルー) is a series of MAD video remixes based on Japanese commercials involving Ronald McDonald, also known in Japan as “Donald McDonald” (ドナルド・マクドナルド).The phrase, “Ran Ran Ru” is a gimmicky expression used by Ronald, usually in combination with hand gestures to signify happiness.

Frork

The "Frork," a portmanteau of fry and fork, is a promotional product to be released by McDonald's on May 5th, 2017. On that day, McDonald's is releasing three new signature sandwiches which have dressing that can spill out of the sandwich on biting it.^[7] The Frork is designed to help conveniently dip a few fries into the sauce that dips out. On May 1st, McDonald's released a satirical infomercial for the product starring popular infomercial host Anthony Sullivan (shown below).

The Twitter response to the Frork was covered by Twitter Moments^[8] the following day. It was also covered by many publications, including CNBC,^[9] Barstool Sports,^[10] and USA Today.^[11]

Search Interest

External References