# McDonald's Experiments **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085 "2003-03-09T15:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mmm.forbidden\_doughnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e68b1a/32.png) [@mmm.forbidden\_doughnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmm.forbidden_doughnut)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/41 "2003-03-10T15:26:22Z")
I’m waiting for the McMac-n-Cheese. Sorry, that’s just fun to say! mmm… ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/42 "2003-03-10T15:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spit \* > \*\*I SWEAR I ate at a McD’s in Dale City, Va (Around '96 or so) that had a full breakfast bar, from which you could eat as much as you wanted. At the time, it was near 11 am, so we ate lunch instead, but I thought how cool it was, and that I would have to come back again for breakfast sometime. > > . . . > > No breakfast bar. He swears I imagined the whole thing. > > Anyone else seen something like this? \*\* Yes, in Illinois/Missouri I’ve seen several McDs’ offering the all-you-can-eat breakfast bar (as in _currently_ offering). As mentioned before, a lot is probably left up to the franchisee as far as what to offer. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/43 "2003-03-10T15:50:06Z")
“STYROFOAM\* is a registered trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for its distinctive Blue\* insulation product used primarily in the construction industry. It is not used in the manufacture of disposable foam products, such as food packaging, cups, plates, coolers or egg trays. These disposable products are made of either molded expanded polystyrene beads or thin extruded polystyrene sheet, neither of which is manufactured by Dow in the United States.” Do I have to rephrase my whole question? Ok, fine. Up until the early 90’s, McD’s burgers were sold in _extruded polystyrene sheet_ containers. After they chaged the packaging, the burgers didn’t seem that tasty anymore. Was the recipe changed around that time, too, or did the packaging somehow contribute to the flavor? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/44 "2003-03-10T17:15:28Z")
Didn’t the McPizza fail because they’d have to have rebuilt all the drive-thru windows to fit the damn thing ‘thru’ horizontally? ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/45 "2003-03-10T18:36:21Z")
Our local McDonald’s in Ottawa served a buttermilk biscuit/ + “omlet” style (scrambled, cooked in a thin sheet, folded to fit) egg + bacon + cheese version of the McMuffin for breakfast for a while (IIRC in the late 80’s). I used to get them every Sunday morning for family breakfast. If they brought those back, I would start visiting the golden arches again. ---
**Author:** ![kali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e57/32.png) [@kali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kali)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/46 "2003-03-11T02:47:04Z")
In Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, they offer the McLobster every summer. It is one of the most vile things ever pawned off as food: a fluffy dry white hot dog bun crammed with sweet mayonnaise and some shreds of lobster … which must be fake, but is perhaps just so processed it appears fake. They cost a bundle, if I remember correctly (around $5 CDN) and the one and only time I had one, all 4 of us in the car ordered drive thru, took one bite each and tossed the whole bag in the McDonald’s trash on the way out. A complete waste. Not a big McDonald’s fan. We call it: McPig’s McDick’s Mickey D’s McDickey’s ---
**Author:** ![kali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e57/32.png) [@kali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kali)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/47 "2003-03-11T02:52:53Z")
Oh yes … and here in China the menu has a ton of different items. I don’t know the names because it’s all Chinese Characters, but there is a burger in between two rice paddies, a sweet and sour soup, and an egg drop soup. I laugh at this because it costs about as much for a dixie cup sized bowl of McSoup as it would for a family-sized hotpot of real vegetables and dumplings just down the street at any of the locally owned stalls. Ahhh but you don’t get the great fluorescent lighting, the neon stools and the muzak. The shakes, cones and drinks are all in much more reasonable sizes than in Canada. There are two reasons I visit McDonald’s here (and in any developing country): 1. Hot Chocolate 2. (relatively) clean public bathrooms ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/48 "2003-03-11T05:20:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by postcards \* > \*\*Didn’t the McPizza fail because they’d have to have rebuilt all the drive-thru windows to fit the damn thing ‘thru’ horizontally? \*\* Actually, come to think of it… I remember getting pizzas at McDonalds in Southern Nevada some time in the early 90’s. They were (IIRC) about the size of a smallish large pizza (bigger than a typical medium), and you could get cheese, pepperoni, or… maybe sausage? Anyway there were three choices. I want to say they were around $5-7. Peace, ~mixie ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/49 "2003-03-11T05:41:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hail Ants \* > \*\* > I also think that both the **BigMac®** and the **Egg McMuffin®** were invented by independent owners and were so popular they were then made national. \*\* Yep, the Big Mac was invented right around here in Pittsburgh! (Uniontown, to be exact). ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/50 "2003-03-11T06:39:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kali \* > \*\*… there is a burger in between two rice paddies… \*\* There’s a joke here somewhere… Welcome to the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![Tree\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@Tree\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tree_Boy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/51 "2003-03-11T07:44:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*Does anyone remember pizza at Burger King? The one in Scotts Valley, CA used to sell “Pizza Firenze”. \*\* You are from (or have been) to Scotts Valley? I spent a year there as a kid (I was 7) and to this day it is my favorite. We lived on a road that had a horse pasture, and at the end of it was a mansion that used to be owned by Alfred Hitchcock and supposedly one of the Smothers Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![kali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e57/32.png) [@kali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kali)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/52 "2003-03-11T08:01:01Z")
Audrey! lol … yes I think I am projecting my own sense of alienation onto the topic! Very observant of you. Thank you for the welcome. I’ve been lurking for a while and have enjoyed the show so far. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/53 "2003-03-11T09:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by karomon \* > \*\* Up until the early 90’s, McD’s burgers were sold in _extruded polystyrene sheet_ containers. After they chaged the packaging, the burgers didn’t seem that tasty anymore. Was the recipe changed around that time, too, or did the packaging somehow contribute to the flavor? \*\* As long as I can remember, McD’s hamburgers have always been served wrapped in that wax paper. However, before going “green”, Big Macs & Quarter Pounders were served in styrofoam-type packaging–does that jibe with your memories? As for the taste/recipe changing? I doubt it. I bet it’s more likely that your taste has become more refined… ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085/54 "2003-03-11T14:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* Saw the McAfrika thing advertised, but didn’t get it. \*\* Ooooo, was that one grain of rice or two? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-experiments/160085.md?page=2)