While many people may know every combo on the menu at McDonald’s, there are a lot of interesting facts about fast food you may not know:

- Fast food may seem like a modern idea, but in the streets of ancient Rome and Greece, vendors sold ready-to-eat meals to patrons.

- The most popular side item at most fast food restaurants is french fries. French fries, in spite of their name, are actually from Belgium.

- The largest Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant is in Beijing, China.

- Wendy’s serves more than 20 million gallons of their Frosty Shakes in the United States every year.

- Kentucky Fried Chicken was first franchised in 1952. It was the first successful fast food chain that sold fried chicken dinners across the country.

- You can order a Whopper at Burger King in more than 1,000 different ways.

- Americans eat almost 20 acres of pizza each year.

- There are actually three McDonald’s restaurants where you can’t buy a hamburger. They are all kosher restaurants located in Israel.

- In 1962, Glen Bell opened Taco Bell, the first fast food chain that served Mexican food.

- Every day, Burger King serves more than 11 million customers all over the world.

- The average American eats fast food almost 200 times every year.

- Who has a degree in the field of Hamburgerology? The founder of the McDonald’s fast food chain, of course!

- The original Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe included 11 different herbs and spices.

- Pizza Hut became the first pizza chain in 1958.

- Every year, McDonald’s purchases around 2 billion eggs for their breakfast muffins.

Elizabeth Walling