DAILY DIRT: You’re never more than 115 miles from a McDonald’s

Anyone still have a bottle of “Flame” around the house? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 987 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Think you are aware of just about everything when it comes to fast food?

Think again.

Consider the following:

• Ronald McDonald was not the first mascot for McDonald’s. It was a chef named Speedee. Speedee was also the centerpiece of the first company logo before the Golden Arches came along in 1962.
• Burger King was originally named Insta-Burger King when it opened in 1953.
• The Burger King Whopper was introduced in 1957 and originally sold for 37 cents.
• The Wendy’s logo contains the word “mom” in the collar of the little redhead girl’s shirt.
• That if you are in the lower 48 U.S. states, you are never more than 115 miles from a McDonald’s.
• Pizza Hut was the first fast-food franchise to offer online ordering in 1994.
• When Taco Bell launched the Doritos Locos Tacos, the company reported 100 million units sold over the first 10 weeks.
• In 2008, Burger King released a cologne called “Flame” that smelled like (wait for it … ) a whopper.
• The first McDonald’s Happy Meal was introduced in 1979.
• Burger King is called “Hungry Jack’s” in Australia.
• McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets come in four shapes and they all have names: the boot, the ball, the bone, and the bell.
• About two new Starbucks have opened every day since 1987.
• McDonald’s once offered bubble gum-flavored broccoli.

2. Did you know (Part 46)

• That Lady Gaga once spent $50,000 on a ghost detector.
• That due to their genes, redheads need about 20 percent more anesthesia than non-redheads..
• That Jell-O tried out a coffee flavor, way back in 1918. The public hated it.
• That Chuck Norris can gargle peanut butter.
• That a group of pugs is called a grumble.

3. Strange as it may seem, the following pro wrestlers never held a title:

• Rowdy Roddy Piper
• Arn Anderson
• Ted DiBiase
• Jake “The Snake” Roberts
• Scott Hall
• Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig)
• Goldust

Steve Thought O’ The Day — If only humans could mirror some of the abilities of, say, a woodpecker. To protect themselves against their super-strong pecks, woodpeckers wrap their tongues around their brains. How is that even possible? I don’t think I even want to know.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Guarantee he wore “Flame” cologne when it came out.