Weird History Food: Season 4

Seasons

• Season: 1
• Season: 2
• Season: 3
• Season: 4
• Season: 5
• Season: 6

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  Once upon a time, almost every fast food place in America had a bar. A salad bar, that is. Heck, a bunch of them even had full on all-you-can-eat buffets, which feels a little more in line with cheeseburger culture. But then, without warning, those bars and buffets started vanishing just as quickly as they had appeared.

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  Whether you’re headed to McDonald’s for a Big Mac, a box of Chicken McNuggets, or a Filet o’Fish, odds are… you’re probably gonna have some fries with that. And that’s because -- all over the world -- pretty much everyone loves the taste of McDonald’s french fries. So what’s the secret?

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  Grilled, fried, or rare. Whole, sliced, or massaged and beer-fed… Americans love a good steak. But with a red meat scare on the rise, many steakhouse regulars face grave concerns. Is chowing down on all that beef truly unhealthy, or has steak simply been slandered for the last few decades?

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  If you were alive in the 1980s and '90s, then you remember the glory days of fruit snacks. Some of them were gummy. Some of them gushed. And some of them were oddly stringy. But the undisputed champion of fruity deliciousness was the snack that rolled. General Mills' legendary fruit roll-ups have been a part of kids' lunches and snack times since 1983, and over the years, they've had their sticky fingers on all sorts of triumphs and controversies. But how were they invented? And exactly how much "fruit" is rolled into that cellophane wrapper?

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  They say “you’ve gotta have heart.” But whoever they were, they clearly weren’t talking about Hart House, a Vegan Fast Food Restaurant founded by comedian Kevin Hart. Despite the best intentions, the chain was so short lived it’s likely you never even heard of it before it blinked out of existence forever. So what went wrong?

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  Unless you’ve been living on Mars, odds are you've heard the phrase “Snap into a Slim Jim!”. Probably from a professional wrestler. Slim Jims are a “meat snack” that is similar to, but legally distinct from beef jerky, and in the 1990s, they were everywhere. But all of a sudden, this once-dominant salty treat seemingly blinked out of existence, as if Thanos snapped into one. So, what happened?

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  The Flintstones was a sitcom that ran on A-B-C from 1960 to 1966, making history as the first animated show to air in primetime. While the show has been off the air for decades, the Flintstones are still a regular fixture in many of our lives thanks to the continued success of a certain brand of breakfast cereals. In fact, it’s possible some people only know them as grocery store mascots, and have no idea the show ever existed.

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  Picture it: you’re out to eat and the smell of loaded potato skins is strong. The walls are adorned with an attic’s worth of knick-knacks, the wait staff is cheery in their white and red striped uniforms, and you’re mesmerized by the tricks the bartender is performing in the background, because in here, it’s always Friday night.

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  Is dessert really dessert without Cool Whip? It’s practically against the law to serve pie or ice cream without a dollop of the light, fluffy spread - or an entire tub, if it’s your birthday. But while it feels as though it's always been there for us, Cool Whip is a fairly recent invention. And we’ve never really been sure what it actually is.

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  When it comes to casual dining, we all know the biggest players in the game. Fast food franchises like McDonald's and Taco Bell, or sit-down restaurants like Denny's and Cracker Barrel have dominated America for decades. But you can't hold onto market domination without a little market innovation, which is why many of these giants have tried to duplicate their success with spin-off restaurants!

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  Subway is one of the most well known submarine sandwich chain of all time. And for a while, they were cruising along like a train. But somewhere along the way, the ride got a little bumpy, and eventually the franchise all but derailed. So what happened, like , ASIDE from that whole fiasco with Jared Fogel?

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  Back in the 1980s, Domino’s Pizza encouraged their customers to “avoid the Noid” -- a strange claymation creature who starred in a series of popular ads for the chain. But the ads turned out to be a little too popular, leading to a dramatic crime that no one could have predicted. How did an animated mascot cause so much havoc?

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  Back in 2003, South Park premiered an episode about an outlandish Mexican restaurant with cliff diving, puppet shows and even a full-on cave system. For most people outside the Colorado area, it was their introduction to Lakewood local legend, Casa Bonita.

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  Ice cream trucks are a cornerstone of classic, nostalgic Americana… but where did they come from? How do they pick their routes? Don’t those drivers get sick of hearing “Pop Goes the Weasel” over and over again all day? And why are they more dangerous than you thought? Let us know in the comments of your most memorable Ice Cream truck experience growing up!

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  In the history of fruit flavored sodas, the almighty Fanta might just reign supreme. With a massive worldwide following and a long history of international production, this orange beverage has become a favorite for just about everyone on the planet…Unless you’re an American that is.

• Everyone has a favorite flavor. Strawberry, or grape, or Pina Colada if you were the weird kid. However, there’s an unspoken agreement that every flavor is based on something you’d eat in the real world, and nothing throws a funky monkey wrench into the works like blue raspberry. This Frankenstein's Monster of sugary creations with its distinct electric color can’t be based on anything found in nature… can it?

• When you’re on a road trip, late for work or just feeling the vibes and looking to chow down on some munchies, the green, orange and white glow of the 7-Eleven sign is ready to accept your rumbly tummy 24 hours a day. And we know it's not good for us, but how bad is it really?

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  From the overloaded cones of a crunchy temaki roll, to the sparse and delicately sliced slabs of nigiri, sushi comes in a variety of forms. While these bite-sized bundles of rice have been saddled with fresh fish for over two thousand years, sushi’s popularity in the West is a relatively recent phenomenon. But like many Japanese art forms, the craft of sushi requires immense skill and comes with a long list of strict rules. And when Americans first started taking a dip in the soy sauce, everything went to hell in a handroll.

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  Hot dogs are synonymous with America’s favorite pastime: baseball. But the delicious and savory treat is also commonly associated with a particular shade of pink in the heart of Hollywood. Pink’s Hot Dogs have been a Los Angeles institution for decades. So why do they have to cost as much as a trip to the west coast?

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  If you’re lucky enough to live near one, then you’ve probably heard that Raising Cane’s chicken is so good, it could make the Colonel fly the coop. The upstart chicken finger eatery with a youthful, fun vibe seemingly came out of nowhere to challenge KFC for the cluckin’ throne. But is there really one tender to rule them all?

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  The McDonald’s apple pie isn’t just a fast-food dessert—it’s a piece of pop culture history. Since its debut in 1968, this crispy, golden treat has captured the hearts (and taste buds) of customers worldwide, evolving over the decades from its beloved fried form to the controversial baked version. But how did it become such an iconic menu item? And why is it so damn lip-scorching?

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  Since the 1850s, this sweet, golden, bubbly beverage with a spicy kick has been refreshing soda lovers around the world. Ginger Ale is beloved as both the perfect drink mixer and upset tummy soother. Over the years, dozens of brands have put their own spin on the original formula. But which brand is the tastiest? The fizziest? The ginger-est? And which is YOUR favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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  It’s been said that the only things you can count on in this life are death and taxes. But whoever said that clearly didn’t realize that after all these years, a tall boy of Arizona Iced Tea still costs less than a dollar. How is that possible?

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  Hard-boiled. Soft-boiled. Poached. Raw. Over Easy. Sunny Side Up. Over Medium. No, these aren’t the names of award-winning Huskies. They are different ways you can prepare an egg. Eggs have been enjoyed on their own or in countless different recipes for centuries. So how did we end up eating these weird little orbs in the first place?

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  If you’re the kind of person who eats omelets for breakfast - or the kind of person who enjoys adventurous juggling - then you’ve probably noticed that eggs have gotten pretty pricey lately. It’s tempting to blame that cost increase on greedy chickens, but as it turns out, it’s actually the work of some vast and mysterious macro-economic forces that can be hard to predict and even harder to budget for.

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  Guy Fieri, the self-proclaimed "Mayor of Flavortown," is one of the most recognizable figures in American media. With his spiked blonde hair, flame shirt, and famous catchphrases, he has built a food empire that spans television, restaurants, and all of pop culture. Yet despite his success, Guy Fieri has experienced the ups and downs of public opinion, rising to fame as a beloved Food Network star before falling out of favor with the American public and becoming a punchline.

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  You probably know exactly when and where you first fell in love with Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza - a marvel of fast-food engineering so beloved that it's almost a cultural icon. But how did this crispy, cheesy, tomato-y masterpiece come to be? Why did it disappear? And is it back for good, or is it just back long enough to make us fall in love again before breaking out hearts like a store bought taco shell?

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  If you’ve ever ordered a burger and asked them to hold the pickles, you’ve technically committed a “Menu Hack.” So-called secret menus have become increasingly popular in the social media age, with excited customers posting hours of content about how to access items that are “hidden” from the regular menu by altering dishes or inventing new ones entirely using the ingredients a restaurant has on-hand. Every so often, these hacks will be popular enough to become a legend in the kitchen, accessible only to a select few who know how to order them.

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  Root beer is a timeless American beverage. Its cold snap and delicious taste have engendered millions of devotees over the past 100 years. From coal mines to baseball diamonds, root beer has been beloved by people from basically every walk of life. And yet, there’s one brand that stands above the rest when it comes to this liquid confection. A&W. So how did one brand rise above all the others to remain at the top of the heap for more than a century?

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  New Jersey: The Garden State. Home to the first ever organized baseball game, the first boardwalk in the world, the first saltwater taffy, the first drive-in movie theater, the first brewery. They even cooked the first can of condensed soup!