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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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...

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

The Mister Softee ice cream truck began with two brothers in a Chevy van in Philadelphia, selling green ice cream.

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...

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.

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

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

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

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

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).

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.

Malaysia is home to a massive McDonald's museum

Top Fast-Food Toy Collections Museum in the city of Alor Setar houses over 80,000 McDonald's items, including Happy Meal toys, employee uniforms, and ketchup packets.

In the 19th century, ice-cream-related illnesses were somewhat regular in America thanks to vendors' poor hygienic practices.

Ice cream trucks are surging in popularity

Modern companies like HipPOPs and Big Gay Ice Cream are driving a resurgence of ice cream trucks, with an annual growth of approximately 9%. Experts say the market will keep growing through at least 2030.

The frozen margarita was invented in Dallas using a repurposed soft-serve machine

On May 11, 1971, Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez adapted an ice cream machine to produce frozen margaritas using his father's recipe. The original machine now sits in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition, with the street treat acting as a legal vice that helped ease the pain of the Great Depression.

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.

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.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

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

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

Dairy Queen can't legally call its frozen dairy products 'ice cream' because they don't meet FDA qualifications for the term.

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.

The history and success of the mysterious Mars Inc.

Mars, Incorporated manufactures some of the world’s favorite treats, including M&M’s, Snickers, and Milky Way bars. Despite their success, you’ve probably not heard of them. The privately held company is largely unknown to the world despite being owned by the second-richest family in the US. This podcast discusses the mysterious Mars family and their remarkable entrepreneurial feat. Listen to uncover more.

Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park

The high-growth restaurant chain is one of the industry's biggest success stories. With chef Danny Meyer at the helm, the restaurant arose out of chance amid an effort to rehabilitate New York's Madison Park. Learn more of the restaurant's story here.

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

Trader Joe's isn't a public company, so it doesn't have to disclose its suppliers

However, when a product is recalled, the US FDA reveals the manufacturer. Business Insider dug into Trader Joe's recalled product history to figure out who is making its food. As it turns out, it's a multitude of suppliers, including big companies that make food for other grocers, such as PepsiCo's Naked Juice and Conagra.

High freezing speed restricts the development of gritty crystal chunks in ice cream

For this reason, ice cream does not maintain its smoothness when refrozen in a traditional freezer over several hours. The smooth texture is also made possible by balancing fat, sugar, and emulsifiers.

Disney's IP problem, according to industry experts

Disney seems to be an unstoppable force in the entertainment industry, but after an unprecedented high point in 2019, the company began losing money. In this podcast, two industry veterans discuss what they see as Disney's existential problems: an overreliance on preexisting material and an inability to innovate as it once did.

The ubiquitous 1990s “Got Milk?” ad campaign was intended to fix milk’s dwindling popularity in the late 20th century

Despite its success in spreading the word about milk, the sales numbers weren’t quite as impressive. This Mental Floss article details the marketing efforts themselves, as well as how milk lobbyists didn’t necessarily succeed despite their revolutionary ads.

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.