Time for Some McDonald's

April 15, 1955 Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald's location in Des Plaines Illinois. Who knew 60+ years later it would still be going strong. Kroc had been a seller of milkshake machines when he opened up the first McDonald's. 

The first McDonald's offered a simple menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries and drinks. The movement of McDonald's had been started by brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald. It took Kroc and his vision to make McDonald's famous. The creative and organized set up that the brothers had designed led Kroc to believing that a franchise eateries nation wide be opened. 

Kroc came up with a plan to use the McDonald's name and system when the brothers were reluctant to expand. Kroc wanted all the burgers to taste the same in every McDonald's so he set strict rules that governed portion size, cooking method and packaging. In 1961 Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million. In 1963 McDonald's sold its millionth hamburger and introduced Ronald McDonald. The golden arches which is actually a large M was based on Richard McDonald's original design. In 1968 the big mac made its first appearance on the menu. 

McDonald's corporation and its subsidiaries operates more than 35,000 restaurants in 118 countries, serving 68 million people every day. Every 14.5 hours a new McDonald's restaurant will open. More than 75 hamburgers are sold every second. Countries without a McDonald's include North Korea, Bolivia, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Bermuda. 

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