On National French Fry Day, 5 Strange but True Stories
Everything you didn't know that you didn't know about french fries.
Thursday is National French Fry Day, which is an amazing excuse to indulge in the best snack to eat at 3 a.m. and then forget about until you burp the next morning.
You might consider yourself a french fry expert. You swear that you could tell the difference between a McDonald’s fry and a Burger King fry in a blindfolded taste test. And you obviously know that if you take leftover fries to-go, you reheat them in the oven, not the microwave. But are you sure you know everything there is about those crispy, deep-friend taters?
Check out these five weird french fry facts and expand your hor-fry-zons.
1. McDonald’s uses “natural beef flavor” in their fries
In your heart of hearts, you must have known this already, right?
I for one don’t like to think too deeply about what’s in my french fries, but people with dietary restrictions don’t have that same luxury. Because of the natural beef flavoring in McDonald’s fries, they’re just not an option for people who don’t eat meat. Another big L for vegetarians, and my official excuse for why I’ll never become one.
2. Fries provided fodder for this murderer’s famous last words
He was right. That is a good headline.
James French definitely came up with that joke before his execution. Like, no way that was on the spot. So my question is: when? Did anyone laugh when he said it? The fact that I will never know the answer torments me.
3. Fries can cost you your job
Would you risk your gainful employment for these fries?
In 2013, a long-time Burger King employee in Vancouver, Canada was fired over a fry-based misunderstanding, in which she took home a medium fry and orange soda after her manager said she was only given permission to take home a fish sandwich. The cost of the “stolen” food? A whopping 50 cents. Luckily the employee, Ms. Usha Ram, took Burger King to court and was awarded $46,000 dollars in damages.
4. You don’t have to lie to get fresh fries
This picture is my desktop wallpaper now.
A rumor circulated online that the only way to get fresh fries from McDonald’s is to ask for “unsalted” fries, thereby forcing employees to whip up a fresh batch. But what kind of maniac goes to McDonald’s for unsalted fries? Redditor u/Daallee debunked that lifehack in a post. “If you are waiting to have your order taken and you notice that the large box of fries in the back of what I like to call “the incubator” has been there a while (which does happen when business is slow), you may ALWAYS ask for fresh fries,” they said. Thank. God.
5. Fries could hasten your demise
You can pry these french fries from my cold, prematurely dead hands.
According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who consumed fries more often had a higher risk of dying. But true fry lovers know that a life without fries is akin to death anyway.
