DAILY DIRT: McDonald’s owns Illinois, but Domino’s Pizza rules in Missouri

Daily Dirt for Monday, June 9, 2025

Personally, I’ll take either … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,310 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Who do those who live in Illinois and Missouri turn to the most when it comes to fast food?

If you’re an Illinoisan, your choice is McDonald’s. No. 2 is Starbucks, followed by No. 3 Domino’s Pizza.

If you live in Missouri, your first choice is Domino’s Pizza. No. 2 is McDonald’s, with No. 3 being Pizza Hut.

In a study coordinated by Restaurant Furniture, a commercial furniture manufacturer, and analyzed by a Google research firm, the data revealed the most searched-for fast-food restaurants (based on regional average monthly search volume) over the past year.

McDonald’s earned 14.8 million monthly searches during the past 12 months and was ranked No. 1 in 22 states. This chain’s iconic golden arches can be seen at 13,515 locations across the country.

Domino’s was searched an average of 11,638,991 times per month. The pizzeria has 6,708 locations around the country. Domino’s ranked first in 12 states.

“Fast food is a staple of American culture, with millions of Americans opting for an easy, tasty food option each and every day,” said a spokesman for Restaurant Furniture. “This study highlights which chains can expect the most visitors as well as which cuisines and meals are the most popular. What is particularly interesting about these results is how popular pizza is.”

2. Did you know (Part 390)

• That Australians address everyone by their first name. It doesn’t matter if it’s their grandmother or a teacher. Aussies are a very laid-back people with few formalities.
• That Swedes never enter an elevator if it is empty, which is the custom in most Nordic countries. Scandinavians would rather wait for an empty elevator than share it with a stranger (for safety concerns). 
• That the Spanish traditionally sit down to dinner at 10 p.m. That applies to children, too. 
• That kids in Venezuela, when receiving their birthday cake must scream as loud as they can. That must make for an interesting party. (If the kids do not do this, they will be ridiculed, according to custom.)
• That in Bolivia milk is sold in bags — even chocolate milk.

3. Attention, cat lovers. Were you aware that:

Cats spend roughly one-third of their lives cleaning themselves.

Cats also spend about one-third of their lives sleeping.Approximately 200 feral cats roam the grounds of Disneyland, where they help control the amusement park’s rodent population. They’re all spayed or neutered, and park staffers provide them with medical care and extra food.

1. The Hungarian word for “quotation marks,” macskaköröm, literally translates to “cat claws.”
2. In just 10 years, a female cat could produce around 49,000 kittens.
3. When a family cat died in ancient Egypt, family members would shave off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. 
4. Cats are actually more popular in the United States than dogs are. There are around 88 million pet cats versus 75 million pet dogs. 
5. A group of cats is called a “clowder”.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Are there no milk cartons in Bolivia? What’s the deal?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. I didn’t think he drank milk.