Malaysia is home to a massive McDonald's museum

See photos of McDonald's locations all across the world from the 'McAtlas.'

The history of the McDonald's Happy Meal

The McDonald's Happy Meal is the quintessential fast food kids meal, serving up child-appropriate portions and prizes all within a portable, fun container. So where did this pop culture icon begin? Watch this quirky 13-minute history of the Happy...

McDonald's releases a new adult Happy Meal

Some McDonald's restaurants in Ohio began a nostalgic campaign in late 2023, reviving chicken nugget-style doll toys famous in adult-themed Happy Meals over a quarter-century before. The company collaborated with artist Kerwin Frost to create the toys. Read more and see photos here.

Explore 'McBroken,' an online map of which McDonald's ice cream machines are broken in the US.

Watch a recreation of the 'Speedee Service System,' the assembly line production method pioneered by the McDonald brothers that revolutionized fast food in the US.

McDonald's became the first American fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union in 1990.

A McDonald's Happy Meal for adults

McDonald’s announced it is teaming up with Cactus Plant Flea Market for the introduction of the new Cactus Plant Flea Market Box for adults, starting on October 3, 2022.

Ranking the best fast food in America

Grab some ketchup packets, toss on your cardboard crown, and meet us in the drive-thru! Browse through the best of the best from fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in 15 categories, including Best Cheeseburger, Best Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Best Fries, Best Onion Rings, and even Menu Item of the Year.

Back when it was still a small restaurant, McDonald's served barbecue.

McDonald's 1990 opening in Moscow symbolized the USSR's fading isolation

When McDonald's arrived in Moscow in 1990—an icon of Western capitalism—it became a cultural shock. NPR's Invisibilia recounts how the chain asked new Russian employees to greet customers with American-style smiles, exploring the clash between Soviet norms and Western service culture (segment starts around 42 minutes in).

Despite meeting as ambulance drivers in WWI, Ray Kroc and Walt Disney weren't the driving forces behind McDonald's and Disney's numerous business partnerships.

McDonald's french fries are, by far, the most popular french fries available at fast food restaurants around the world.

Until late 2024, the company that makes McDonald's ice cream machines held an elusive repair monopoly on them, the culprit behind the frequent outages that fueled widespread social media discourse.

One odd Macy’s location is basically a museum

Here’s a list of things you wouldn’t expect to see at your average Macy’s store: a 19th-century French painting, a former midcentury children’s barbershop, nautical portholes, and the list goes on. Shoppers can find all those things and more in one unique Macy’s store in Pasadena, California.

The fascinating world of Disney's themed trash cans

One man's trash can is a literal treasure trove for Steve Tanner, the impassioned curator of this gallery of Disney's hundreds of distinct trash cans at its many parks and resorts. For 15 years, Tanner has researched and photographed the varying styles and themes of the trash cans and posted images and descriptions of them on his site, organized by location. Dive into the world of trash here.

Why Coke tastes different at McDonald's

Fans of the sugary soda Coca-Cola have noticed significant differences between its canned variety versus what pours forth from the fountain at McDonald's. Is there anything to the claim? Weird History Food takes a dive into this essential fast-food...

In 2014, there were more payday loan stores than McDonalds

That year, there were more than 20,000 payday lenders in the US, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and 14,267 McDonald's locations. Politicians and consumer advocates frequently cited this statistic as a selling point for increased regulation.

Unlike other franchises, the McDonald's Corporation owns the land and the buildings of individual stores, and franchise owners lease those assets—resulting in McDonald's often being called a real-estate company.

The Failure Museum is a curated collection of over 1,000 items representing failed products and companies

Sean Jacobsohn, a tech investor and founder of the Failure Museum, uses items from failed businesses to explain the six primary forces behind their flops, from a Theranos mug to a Blockbuster membership card.

Kansas City is home to the first museum of barbecue

America is home to several kinds of barbecue, leading one Kansas City food writer to open the world's first museum dedicated to the cuisine. The Museum of BBQ tells the story of the food's evolution through interactive exhibits, a sauce immersion room, and even a barbecue-themed playground.

A massive list of wildly specific museums

The definition of a museum varies depending on who you ask and where you find yourself. Need proof? Check out this list of over 80 museums—dedicated to niche interests like hand fans, hovercrafts, and celebrity leftovers (really).

Ray Kroc proposed the idea of franchising McDonald's as a way to sell more of his Multimixers 7 years before buying the McDonald's brothers out of the company for $2.7M.

Between 1989 and 2001, a security guard dubbed 'Uncle Jerry' rigged the McDonald's Monopoly sweepstakes by handing out 60 winning pieces worth more than $24M.

The legend of Pittsburgh’s fake Burger King

Years ago, a Burger King in Pittsburgh lost its franchise due to repeated customer complaints about food quality. However, the franchise-holders continued to operate the restaurant, switching to generic packaging but keeping the signage and uniforms. Customers eventually caught on and raised suspicions, leading to Burger King's corporate leaders' involvement. Learn more about the bizarre establishment and how it managed to continue operations for months.

Fast-food prices have increased more over the past 10 years than both full-service restaurants and inflation.

Eating KFC is a Christmas tradition in Japan

Since a 1974 marketing campaign, eating KFC on Christmas has become a nationwide custom in Japan. Families place orders weeks in advance, and the holiday accounts for nearly a third of KFC Japan's total yearly sales.

The 'Sign Post Forest' in Canada's Yukon collects roadsigns from across the globe

The unique roadside attraction is a common stop for those traveling along the Alaska Highway, allowing visitors to browse over 100,000 signs. The collection is believed to have been started in 1942 by a homesick American soldier.

McDonald's intentionally avoids using the word 'milkshake'

The restaurant's US menus use an abbreviated term: the simple "shake." Conspiracy theorists suggest this means the chain doesn't use actual milk, but the truth is a bit more complicated and—much to their displeasure—mostly related to dairy regulations.

As of 2023, there are about 1.1 billion objects stored in 73 of the world's largest natural history museums, but only about 16% of specimens are available in digital archives.

White Castle helped propel fast food as a restaurant model

Diners looking for quick meals had plenty of options with food stands and automats, but White Castle pioneered the concept of the fast food restaurant with its first location in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. The owners emphasized White Castle as more than a fast and cheap way to eat; it was a place to sit and enjoy a meal, with stainless steel interiors and open kitchens.

Is Domino’s pizza inflation-proof?

A Big Mac Extra Value Meal is nearly $11 in 2025, compared to $4.59 in 1993. A Taco Bell crunchy taco costs $1.79 today, but was only 59 cents in 1990. Inflation impacts the price of many fast-food items—but the price of a Domino's pizza hasn't changed much at all in the past two decades.

Before becoming a famous weatherman for the Today show, Willard Scott created 'Ronald McDonald' for a Washington DC location in 1963.

See Walt Disney's corporate strategy document from 1957, complete with a plethora of Mickey Mouse illustrations.

Check out the 50 weirdest roadside attractions in the US, from Alabama's Unclaimed Baggae Center to Wyoming's Elkhorn Arch.

The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum complex

With 21 museums and the National Zoo, the Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum complex. Eleven of those museums sit directly on the National Mall, and all offer free admission to the public.

Memorabilia from Hitchcock's career is archived and known as the 'Alfred Hitchcock Papers'

The Alfred Hitchcock Papers are part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Collection, the world’s largest film-related archive. The collection consists of more than 52 million items, including photographs, posters, screenplays, costumes, props, and the films themselves.

Take a tour of the Museum of Natural History

Opened in 1910 on the Mall, the National Museum of Natural History is among the Smithsonian's oldest museums. Its scientists steward more than 148 million objects and specimens—making it the largest natural history collection on Earth.

Explore the history of American restaurants through an archive of menus dating back to the early 1800s.

Pop Mart is the company behind the viral Labubu toy craze

Labubus, the Chinese collectible toys, are being heralded as the next Beanie Babies. Pop Mart, the company behind the Labubus, is using a few psychological tools to keep the Labubu economy booming.

Whose bodies are held inside the American Museum of Natural History?

The American Museum of Natural History holds the remains of at least 12,000 people collected via purchase, donation, or expedition. This article by a professor of art crime details their attempt to identify the individuals whose remains the museum held. Amid questioning, AMNH announced it would change its human remains policy. At the time of the article's publication in October 2023, AMNH had few human remains on public display.

Abandoned Detroit: the decline of America's car mecca

Detroit, Michigan, began as a fur trading post in the 1700s but would become the world epicenter of car manufacturing in the 1900s after Henry Ford developed his paradigm-shifting assembly line at a plant there. Racial tensions, a lack of economic diversification, and poor leadership would plunge the city into poverty and decay in the late 1900s, culminating in a 2014 bankruptcy. Browse the somber images of the city's abandoned spaces here.

Created when Tencent launched the first version of its internet messaging platform, QQ, the company's winking penguin has become a ubiquitous cultural presence in China.

Safely explore historic viruses and other malicious software in the Malware Museum.

Iftar foods from around the world

The global population of Muslims eats and fasts in distinct way around the world. This photo survey spans Morocco's harira soup to Indonesia's kolak (a sweet dessert soup) and Turkey's pide (like pizza but without the tomato sauce). The one universal aspect for most iftar meals is dates and water, following Muhammad's practice. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

See a collection of mind-bending architecture around the world, including a teapot gas station, a duck home, and a picnic basket building.

Before being sued over a customer's third-degree burns, McDonald's required all coffee to be served between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

The world's largest restaurant is the size of 10 football fields

The Bawabet Dimashq Restaurant in Damascus, Syria, has held the Guinness World Record for largest restaurant since 2008. It can seat 6,014 guests and employs nearly 1,800 people, who serve up an eclectic menu of Middle Eastern Indian, Arab, Iranian, Syrian, and Chinese dishes.

Jeff Bezos started his career working at McDonald’s

He now claims that his high school gig at the fast food restaurant taught him about efficiency, customer service, and other valuable lessons that he took with him when building Amazon.

The best Cannes Lions winners of all time

Cannes Lions has been highlighting the best campaigns for over 70 years. This list brings together nine of the best from the festival’s history, with standouts from Mastercard, Adidas, and Burger King.

Explore a Macy's historical timeline

From its founding as RH Macy & Co. in 1858, to its 150th birthday in 2008, Macy’s has a long and storied history. Luckily, the store has chronicled many of its major milestones on its website, including key Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade milestones.