# Is the Big Mac actually big in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378 "2018-02-07T17:46:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/41 "2018-02-09T00:38:16Z")
The regular sonic burger is a quarter pound. I can’t find the weight of the Jr. Burger but I doubt it’s less than the 10th of a pound of a McDonald’s burger. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/42 "2018-02-09T01:13:21Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > These days I assume the best selling burger is the Quarter Pounder so the Big Mac seems anemic in comparison from a meat perspective. Quarter pounder = .25 lbs (before cooking) Big Mac = (2) .10lb, or .20lb Yeah, big diff. Meat only, QP is 25% larger, or BM is 20% smaller, depending on what you are trying to prove. When I was tiny and impressionable, I visited my grandfather’s house often. It was a mansion. _Yuge._ Grand. Even Grande. 30 years later, I visited the same house. Not so big. Not so impressive. Did the house shrink, or did I grow? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/43 "2018-02-09T01:24:34Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > It did seem larger when it was wrapped in paper, surrounded by a cardboard ring and packaged in a cardboard box. It was just a tiny bit less complex than the gift wrap Rowen Atkinson was doing in _Love Actually_. **gaffa** got it. The old Big Mac, with the ring, just looked bigger. Probably because the ring kept the shredded lettuce from compacting when they wrapped it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/44 "2018-02-09T01:44:01Z")
If you read U.S. fiction from the 1920-40s, characters always stop off at a diner or roadhouse for a “couple of hamburgers.” At the time it wasn’t assumed that one hamburger sandwich constituted a full meal. This lends credence to the 1/10 lb. theory. When I was in college, the Yankee Doodle (permanently stuck in 1932, counter service only, yummy, shut down in the mid 2000s) on Broadway in New Haven served a cheeseburger of which you needed at least two to fill your gut. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/45 "2018-02-09T03:16:06Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In 1967 - when it was introduced - the Big Mac was a pretty good sized burger. It was actually invented by a franchise owner to compete with comparable products at other restaurants, as McDonald hamburgers were being outsized by the competition. > . The Bob’s Big Boy, which was more or less identical to the Big Mac. The Big Mac was a total rip-off. > **[The 5 Most Egregious Big Mac Rip-Offs Of All Time – OC Weekly](https://www.ocweekly.com/the-5-most-egregious-big-mac-rip-offs-of-all-time-6623151/)** ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/46 "2018-02-09T03:17:59Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > I would venture to say most American adults today wouldn’t consider that regular burger big enough, but it was obviously big enough for a an adult in the 1950s. And you have to take into account that the fries and drink sizes were smaller then, too since it was before all the biggie, mega, extra lingo. Not quite. We were eating them back then, and most adults ate two plus fries. But the freis werent super sized. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/47 "2018-02-09T03:31:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > … > A Big Mac meal with a regular drink has about a thousand calories, half of which is the Big Mac. That’s a big lunch. You simply do not need a thousand calories at every meal, unless you’re exercising a lot. However, everyone else is selling incredible amounts of food now so the Big Mac looks small by comparison. In the last couple of generations, portion sizes in North America have gotten grotesquely large. True. A Big Mac meal is entirely a meal for me: lunch or supper. I don’t, and probably can’t, eat much more than that. And as to the OP, the diameter of a Big Mac is, and always has been, 3.75 inches: almost twice as big as your two inches. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/48 "2018-02-09T07:44:15Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Also, it was called the “[Big Boy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boy_Restaurants#The_Big_Boy_hamburger)” at Big Boy restaurants long before McDonald’s stole it and started calling it the Big Mac. I didn’t go to Big Boy before the Big Mac was invented (not having been born yet) but I did go to a Big Boy later and their Big Boy burger was much more deserving of the “Big” title. I couldn’t tell you what it looked like in the 60s though. The Big Boy down the street closed a few years ago. So I haven’t been to one in awhile. I can’t think of any fast food place I would drive across town for. When it was here I definitely preferred the Big Boy to the Mac and they also had a bigger version, Super Big Boy. The big Boy itself is advertised as 1/4 pound, so a little bigger than the Mac. As far as whether it’s “big” or not is subjective. I personally require more daily calories than 3 Big Mac combo meals would provide, but most people don’t. For many people a 500 calorie burger is huge. Others complain if a burger is under 1200 calories or so. Many people eat 1 or 2 meals a day or intermittent fast. Others drink loads of sugar water and snack all day. If you don’t eat fries or several hundred calories in sugared beverages at a time, the burger itself might not amount to much more than a snack. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/49 "2018-02-09T23:54:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When I was a kid, I _loved_ the [Bonus Jack](http://aht.seriouseats.com/2010/11/reality-check-jack-in-the-boxs-bonus-jack.html) from Jack In The Box. We ‘never’ went to McDonalds. The Bonus Jack was discontinued in the early-'80s. When I was little, we only ever had Jack-in-the-Box too. I love the Breakfast Jack any time of day. One of my vivid kid memories is my brother getting a big beetle in his soda. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/50 "2018-02-10T00:43:47Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > When I was little, we only ever had Jack-in-the-Box too. We had the option of McDonald’s, but we never went. I remember when Burger King came to San Diego in the late-'60s or 1970. It was when they had the ‘It takes two hands to handle a Whopper. The burgers are bigger at Burger King’ commercials. Loved those. But JITB was the go-to place. ---
**Author:** ![Simon\_Bone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Simon\_Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simon_Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/51 "2018-02-10T11:47:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was actually invented by a franchise owner to compete with comparable products at other restaurants. Specifically, the Big Boy hamburger, of which it is essentially a clone, right down to its name. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/52 "2018-02-10T12:18:08Z")
If I went into McD’s enough I might end up having this conversation: “I will have a small mac” “A small mac?” “Yes, a small mac.” “We don’t have a small mac. We have a big mac.” “Is that big?” “Yes…” “I beg to differ” “…” “I will have a small mac then” (Then chuck it in the bin as I expect it will end up with spit on it). ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/53 "2018-02-10T13:40:25Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > If I went into McD’s enough I might end up having this conversation: > > “I will have a small mac” > “A small mac?” > “Yes, a small mac.” > “We don’t have a small mac. We have a big mac.” > “Is that big?” > “Yes…” > “I beg to differ” > “…” > “I will have a small mac then” > > (Then chuck it in the bin as I expect it will end up with spit on it). What would this accomplish? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/54 "2018-02-10T14:28:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s funny that everyone is saying burgers have gotten bigger. > > Decades ago [they seemed larger than Big Macs are today](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheWayWeWere/comments/3myjcp/radio_dj_texas_tiny_eats_buffalo_burger_buffalo/) > [I asked about that guy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=836053) last September. 😉 One, they’re Texans, and Two, I really doubt you could get one for 55¢ like the sign says, even in Texas. In **DrCube** ’s linked blog most of the burgers you get a good look at look decently sized, especially the last one. A long time ago I read [_Big Mac: The Unauthorized Story of McDonald’s_](https://www.amazon.com/Big-Mac-Unauthorized-Story-McDonalds/dp/0525066756) and it specifically mentioned the standard McD burger was 0.10 pound. The story that got me was how, after World War II Kroc had tried his hand at various things with indifferent success and he was selling Hamilton Beach appliances. He got an order for their shake mixer, eight of the big ones that can make six at a time. Now, you or I would have been happy with the order, pocketed the commission, and thought no more of it. Kroc got curious about why someone needed to make 42 shakes at the same time, though, and delivered the machines to San Bernardino (I think) personally. He found two brothers from New Hampshire named McDonald with an enormous burger stand. The rest, as they say, is history. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/55 "2018-02-10T18:57:35Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > What would this accomplish? Just a statement of reality on my part. Nice to be in the real world occasional, be it for a fleeting moment. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/56 "2018-02-10T21:25:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The story that got me was how, after World War II Kroc had tried his hand at various things with indifferent success and he was selling Hamilton Beach appliances. He got an order for their shake mixer, eight of the big ones that can make six at a time. Now, you or I would have been happy with the order, pocketed the commission, and thought no more of it. Kroc got curious about why someone needed to make 42 shakes at the same time, though, and delivered the machines to San Bernardino (I think) personally. He found two brothers from New Hampshire named McDonald with an enormous burger stand. The rest, as they say, is history. Depicted in the recent movie _The Founder_ with Michael Keaton as Kroc. One of my favorite scenes is when Kroc goes up to the walk-up window on his first visit and is given his order immediately with no waiting. He is utterly flabbergasted. At the standard drive-ins of the time, he was used to waiting 10 minutes or more and them getting the order wrong to boot. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/57 "2018-02-11T02:52:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It was always exciting to find a small town with a McDonald’s. Their burgers seemed so large in comparison. The Big Mac was a feast in 1973. > > Portion size has changed. Burgers today don’t fill us up anymore. My memories of McD’s go back to the early 70s. I lived in a fair-sized city which at the time had exactly one (1) McDonald’s in the whole place. And unless my memory is faulty (which is entirely possible) Big Macs at the time were exactly the same in size and taste as they are today. What has become bigger, with more fat content, is people. > [@sciurophobic](#): > > And even larger when it came in a Styrofoam clamshell container, the way nature intended. I remember those, as well as all the other packaging and product fads that McD’s went through. For a while they had a burger that required a styrofoam container with two compartments, twice the normal width. I don’t remember what it was called but the idea was that one side contained the bun half with the hot burger and cheese and stuff, and the other side contained the bun half with cold lettuce and tomato and stuff. The idea was that you would smash them together just before you ate them, and experience the temperature differential sensations, as nature intended. Having experienced a wide variety of McD’s products over the years, I’ve settled on my standard when I’m in the mood for junk food: a Wendy’s classic cheeseburger. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/58 "2018-02-11T02:59:15Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > For a while they had a burger that required a styrofoam container with two compartments, twice the normal width. I don’t remember what it was called… McDLT. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/59 "2018-02-11T21:55:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In 1967 - when it was introduced - the Big Mac was a pretty good sized burger. It was actually invented by a franchise owner to compete with comparable products at other restaurants, as McDonald hamburgers were being outsized by the competition. > > A Big Mac meal with a regular drink has about a thousand calories, half of which is the Big Mac. That’s a big lunch. You simply do not need a thousand calories at every meal, unless you’re exercising a lot. However, everyone else is selling incredible amounts of food now so the Big Mac looks small by comparison. In the last couple of generations, portion sizes in North America have gotten grotesquely large. 2000 calories a day is standard according to most NUTRITION FACTS labels. If you skip breakfast, which lots of americans do, 1000 calories for one of the two remaining meals is just about right. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378/60 "2018-02-11T22:00:00Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > If I went into McD’s enough I might end up having this conversation: > > “I will have a small mac” > “A small mac?” > “Yes, a small mac.” > “We don’t have a small mac. We have a big mac.” > “Is that big?” > “Yes…” > “I beg to differ” > “…” > “I will have a small mac then” > > (Then chuck it in the bin as I expect it will end up with spit on it). They have a jr. mac, which would be your “small mac”. Basically a single hamburger with all the big mac toppings/sauce on it. One all beef patty special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun. Honestly I prefer it to the Big or Grand Macs in ratio of “stuff” to burger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-mac-actually-big-in-the-us/808378.md?page=4)