The Truth Behind the Everlasting Happy Meal: Burgers That Size Don't Rot

[The Straight Story]

The Truth Behind the Everlasting Happy Meal: Burgers That Size Don't Rot

The internet was totally grossed out recently by images that showed a McDonald's hamburger sitting out in the open for six months without decomposing or rotting. But one blogger dug a bit deeper, and it turns out no hamburgers rot.

Well, no burgers that are roughly the shape and size of McDonald's plain burger, anyway. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at Serious Eats was tired of people slagging off the Happy Meal burger without any real scientific sense of what was going on. The Happy Meal burger doesn't rot, sure, but he wanted to know why it doesn't rot.

To figure out just that, Lopez-Alt set up a little experiment. He'd leave a Happy Meal burger out, unwrapped, just like the previous slideshows had shown. But he'd also make his own burger out of ground chuck and put it on a store-bought bun and leave that out too. And along with those two he'd whip up pretty much every variation on the theme:

http://gizmodo.com/5682815/the-truth-behind-the-everlasting-happy-meal-no-burgers-that-size-rot?skyline=true&s=i

Haters gonna hate

[woo me with science]

1. I suspected this all along. Thanks. nt

[Emillereid]

2. My husband also tried this experiment -- and lo and behold

within a couple of weeks it was completely covered with mold. I don't know how to get a photograph on DU. Help anyone?

[immoderate]

3. The photo has to be on line somewhere.

You could create an account at photobucket.com (for instance) then put the link in your post.

--imm

[tammywammy]

4. You'll need to upload your photo to a website

I use photobucket.com

Upload the photo and then use the photo's URL in your post and it'll appear. :)

[gmoney]

9. tinypic.com doesn't require an account

just upload and copy the link information... you can create an account to keep track of all your uploads, but it's not required.

[felix_numinous]

5. Did any one try putting one in a moldy basement?

That would be a real test.

[Ozymanithrax]

6. I havn't eaten a McDonald's hamburter in years...

and I'm not even gong to start now, knowing that mummification stops rot.

[Iggo]

7. McDonald's food is still shit, though.

[SeattleVet]

8. Without knowing the temp and humidity and air flow

for the original 'experiment', I just figured that it was in a warm and dry enough environment to dehydrate.

I suspect that if the same thing were to be done here in Seattle at this time of year you would see a vast amount of mold, slime, rust, algae, fungus, and even some new and unique proto-life forms come into being very quickly on that same burger.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. I don't care what they say... I'm glad to have the CHOICE of eating a Happy Meal.

Oh wait, not in SF though. No choice there. How ironic is that? Never mind, if I am in SF and want a Happy Meal? I'll find a Mickey D's OUTSIDE of the SF city limits. No problem.

[The Straight Story]

11. Indeed, some people don't like choice

They want someone else (usually themselves) to make choices for others.

[Iggo]

12. LOL...the toy is that important to you?

;-)

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. Let me tell you something, Buster...

When I was young, my family was soooo poor that Happy Meal toys were all I got for birthdays and Christmas. I could never understand why as a child I was taken to McD's so often, and why, when the meal was passed through the window my Dad or Mom would hastily rifle through the bag and take something out while admonishing me to "hide my eyes".

I always wanted a Big Mac, but NOOOO, I always got a Happy Meal. It wasn't until earlier this year that my Parents sat me down, and explained the boxes and boxes of Happy Meal toys stored in their attic. Then they took me out for one last Happy Meal, and sure enough, they made me "hide my eyes". It was just like old times.

So yeah, they're important to me.

Seriously though, I'm big on choice, and hate when choice is legislated out of my reach. Going out of the city limits for a Happy Meal (which, by the way, I don't think I've ever eaten) would simply be my way of thumbing my nose at nannies.

:toast:

[yellowwood]

13. A Related Story

Recently, a friend brought McDonald's breakfast when he stopped in. He brought along some kind of biscuit "nuggets" glazed in a sugary substance. We told him to take it with him as it's nothing we would eat, but he didn't. He left it here in its little "bowl."

So we set it out at the edge of our yard next to a farmer's field. We kept checking it, thinking that some animal would drag it away. It didn't even get flies on it, but something eventually nibbled on the "sugar." After about three days, something actually took it.

Now we have coyotes, fox, chipmunks, mice, etc. running around here. Even they rejected it!