Fast food joints are so ingrained in American culture that you probably don't think twice
about any of them.
But while you may be familiar with the food at McDonald's or Taco Bell, how much do you
really know about the restaurants themselves?
Turns out, some of these chains have a weird side you've probably never heard of.
Until now.
Here's a look at some bizarre restaurant facts that are hard to believe.
Food in space
Eating in zero gravity isn't as easy as it seems, and it actually seems kind of hard
to begin with.
One problem: crumbs.
On Earth, they're no big deal, but without gravity, they can go any which way and potentially
mess up all that vital hardware keeping astronauts alive.
Luckily, the space race has a secret ally: Taco Bell.
Astronaut Jose Hernandez cracked the crumb problem when he came up with the idea of using
tortillas instead of bread.
Tortillas usually have a pretty short shelf life, though, so Taco Bell teamed up with
NASA scientists to come up with a special space tortilla that can survive in space for
up to a year.
As a result, Taco Bell supplies all the tortillas to the International Space Station.
Which is a little more practical than ordering a pizza.
But the astronauts on the International Space Station tried that once too.
In 2001, Pizza Hut sent a pizza to the space station in a promotional stunt that cost the
chain a whopping $1 million.
We're guessing NASA will probably just stick to burritos going forward.
Guantanamo's golden arches
If you think space is inhospitable, try Guantanamo Bay.
The infamous American military base in Cuba is notorious for its prison, but there's also
lesser-known surprise behind those walls: a McDonald's.
Opened in 1986 by an independent franchise who saw a business opportunity selling burgers
to the 6,000 servicemen stuck on the base, the Guantanamo Bay McDonald's is reportedly
still the only Mickey D's in Cuba despite the loosening of economic sanctions.
Waffle House has a record label
The best part about eating at Waffle House, besides the hash browns of course, is their
crazy jukebox filled with songs about Waffle House recorded at their own record label.
Called Waffle Records, the label was created in the mid 1980's to add a little zest to
the jukebox lineup, resulting in tunes like "They're Cooking Up My Order", "There are
Raisins in My Toast", and the bluegrass banger "Waffle House Steaks".
Even Stephen Colbert got into the act, recording his own Waffle House song alongside country
star Sturgill Simpson because why the hell not.
"No skeletons or zombies, cuz we don't serve the dead.
No shirt, no shoes, no knuckleheads."
Taco Bell's American menu
Just how authentic is Taco Bell's Mexican food?
Apparently the answer is "not very," because when they opened a branch in Mexico, they
hyped up just how American their food actually is.
With a menu that included French fries and ice cream, the chain renamed their tacos "tacostadas"
so customers wouldn't expect, you know, actual tacos.
And to drive home the point, they adopted the slogan "It's something different."
A spokesman for parent company Yum Brands said it all when he told The San Diego Tribune,
"What we are bringing to Mexico is not Mexican food."
Christmas with the Colonel
Christmas isn't exactly a big deal in Japan, except for one very odd tradition: eating
lavish dinners provided by KFC.
It all started back in 1974, when some overseas visitors couldn't find a turkey dinner for
Christmas.
So they settled for the next best thing by eating at...
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
That prompted a massive marketing campaign with the slogan "Kentucky for Christmas!"
with some fans ordering the dinners - which include cake and champagne - months ahead
of time.
(the greatest thing you'll see all day)
Waffle House heroics
It sounds crazy, but the government actually tracks the severity of natural disasters by
how Waffle House responds.
See, Waffle House has hundreds of locations that are in high risk areas for hurricanes,
tornadoes, and floods.
The chain has become known for providing services to first responders, even maintaining a mobile
command center that can be dispatched to the hardest hit areas to make sure their restaurants
can stay open in times of crisis.
"We have some updated information for us.
Right now we have eight of the 32 are closed, but we expecting four of those to be back
open today."
So when Craig Fugate transferred from the Florida Emergency Management Division to FEMA
in 2009, he brought with him his "Waffle House Index," which rates how bad conditions are
on the ground based on whether or not the local Waffle House is still open or not.
It proved so successful that in 2012, Waffle House began reporting directly to FEMA to
help coordinate relief efforts.
Chuck E. Cheese's Atari connection
Ready to have your mind blown?
Well, how about this: Chuck E. Cheese's and Atari were created by the same person, Nolan
Bushnell.
In fact, Atari's success was the whole reason he created Chuck E. Cheese's in the first
place!
Selling an arcade cabinet earned him maybe $2,000, but that machine could bring in upwards
of $20,000 over its lifetime.
So Bushnell realized he could make more money by opening his own arcade joint rather than
just selling the games to other people.
He wanted to keep people there as long as possible, so he came up with the idea of serving
pizza, and added the animatronics to lure parents with kids into the joint.
The final piece was the mascot, which was actually supposed to be a coyote.
Thanks to a shipping error, though, they received a rat costume instead, and improvised the
Chuck E. Cheese mascot to fit what they had.
"I call it Chuck E. Cheese's pizza-time theater.
I just wonder if anyone will come."
At least they didn't get a teddy bear.
(almost as frightening as a Chuck E. Cheese animatronic)
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