After reading the thread about the secret formula to Coke, it got me thinking about that other famous secret formula - the 11 herbs and spices in KFC. The book mentioned in the Coke thread - Big Secrets - says that an analysis of KFC only turned up salt (lots of it), pepper and MSG. Does it really have 11 herbs and spices, or are they just pulling our leg? And if Big Secrets is right, how can they claim 11 herbs in their commercials?
Didn’t we recently cover this very topic?
Maybe i was hallucinating.
Hallucinating? Ah, yes, that would be the herb that nobody ever mentions…
Modest? You bet I’m modest! I am the queen of modesty!
Speaking of the House of the Venerated and Inscrutable Colonel*, anyone noticed that they changed their name to an abbreviated form after the health-food craze started?
*I was told that this is the name of Kentucky Fried Chicken in China. He’s venerated because of his beard which shows age and wisdom and inscrutable because he died without ever revealing the secrets of the 11 herbs and spices.
Watching the KFC commercials, I think famous people are going to start putting provisions in their wills stating that they are not to be made into a cartoon character after their death.
Lumpy? Gosh, I hope not. It would eliminate the chance that one day, I will turn on the 35 anniversary show of “The Simpson’s”, and see a cartoon-ish image of Matt Groening as Silas Mariner…lol
Typer :)
" If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel "
“House of the Venerable and Inscrutable Colonel” - I like that.
Sanders was a real geezer at the end - there’s been a tape going around of him and some producer trying to record a radio spot; him trembling and clueless, the producer eye-rolling and impatient. Pretty sad.
Personal anecdote: My aunt & uncle were married in Kentucky in 1972 or so and as part of the family celebration we all took a tour of the Colonel’s mansion (I guess it was the only neutral, touristy thing to do around there; that or Fort Knox). Guess who was planted in the rocking chair on the front porch.
It’s a good thing I was around 3 or so - I couldn’t have gotten away with sitting in his lap otherwise. What I remember best is looking into the bourbon-tinted eyes of one happy camper!
I hope the colonel’s gin-soaked happiness wasn’t related to your boyish presence in his lap.
oops. I just realized that RTA may be female. My inane post still stands except for the “boyish”. Sorry.
There is a biography of Col. Sanders on A & E. Seems the old boy was a good showman. He decided that secret herbs and spices had a little more mystery than just plain ole herbs and spices. And maybe at one time there really were 11 of 'em.
The company that bought KFC from him has a history of changing things (starting with the gravy mixture). And you may recall that they dropped the “11 secret herbs and spices” line for most of the 80’s.
I’m a dude, and congrats on the new record for “fastest molestation reference”. 4 minutes, whew
Yeah, I thought this had probably been covered before, since it seems like a pretty obvious question - I just couldn’t find anything with the search. Could someone point me to a link, please?
There was supposed to be an autobiography called Life As I Know It Has Been Finger Lickin Good by you-know-who,but I can’t locate it.
RTA & others…
I don’t think the “House of Vewnerable & Inscrutable Colonel” is for real. The text noted is an almost exact quote from the Neal Stephenson novel “The Diamond Age” set in a future time. I have a feeling he made it up.
Sorry to burst bubbles. If anyone can prove that I’m wrong, I’d be delighted.
Actually Arken, IIRC, Kentucky Fried Chicken was changed to KFC not due to the health craze but because the state of Kentucky decided to trademark the word “Kentucky” and charge all companies to use that name. KFC decided not to play along and changed their name to KFC. This just happened to coincide with the health craze.
Jeffery
Oh, god, here we go again.
By the way, I’ve decided to trademark the name “Ukulele.” I am expecting BIG payoffs from the Arthur Godfrey estate!
And I hear Uncle Cecil is looking into trademarking “Dope.” So your local marihuana peddler had better keep an eye out for Ed Zotti and the squadron of SD attorneys…
Uke
I believe what Uke is trying to say, Trekker, is that the “copyrighting Kentucky” story has been dealt with on the MB before.
-andros-
On the issue of whether KFC changed their name due to the “health craze”, who would really believe that KFC and the former Kentucky Fried Chicken were different entities? Also, I’m surprised the state of Kentucky would stoop to such a lame moneymaking scheme as trademarking their own name, but I guess it really is true. Is it even legal for a state to do such a thing? I would think that it could be easily challenged in court…
The copyrighting “Kentucky” story was a not-so-funny joke by Snopes. Go back to that page and search it until you find a tiny message (in something like a 6-point font) that says that the page is a parody. I was taken in by it, too, but rest assured that you can still buy Kentucky Bluegrass at your local garden center.
“I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island
I’d rather buy Kentucky Bluegrass at my local record store.
As far as the ‘House of the Venerated and Inscrutable Colonel’ thing, I do remember reading that in ‘The Diamond Age’ now that you mention it, but I also seem to remember being told that several years before Stephenson’s book. I do know that the Chinese love KFC and after the stories of bad translations of American products into Chinese before (G.E. - We bring your ancestors back from the grave), I like to think that if it’s not true, it should be, damn it.