Buzz
Nothing says 'American' quite like a hamburger, despite its roots in a German city. A staple of fast food, it has recently made a comeback, with celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay opening Bobby’s Burger Palace locations in the northeastern US. And why wouldn’t the hamburger be so popular? It’s undeniably delicious.
10. The Most Expensive Burger in the World
While hamburgers are typically affordable, with fries and a drink included for under $10 at most fast-food joints, certain exclusive restaurants have completely redefined the concept of a 'cheap' burger. These high-end eateries incorporate luxury ingredients like lobster, foie gras, and even a barbecue sauce made with Kopi Luwak coffee beans—coffee beans that have been consumed and excreted by a civet.
While many restaurants compete to create the most expensive burger (some priced in the hundreds of dollars), none have quite matched the $10,000 USocial.net anniversary burger. A true culinary masterpiece, this burger, sold for charity, featured luxurious ingredients like Wagyu beef, truffles, and 24-karat gold leaf. The most notable component, however, was the sliced Spanish jamón ibérico, made from black Iberian pigs that are fed a diet primarily consisting of acorns.
9. The World’s Worst Burger
No one would mistake hamburgers for health food, and nutritional advice suggests that a meat serving should be about three ounces, roughly the size of a deck of cards. Yet, one Las Vegas restaurant ignores these norms. Dubbed “nutritional pornography” by its founder, the Heart Attack Grill’s menu includes heart-stopping items like butterfat milkshakes and fries fried in pure lard. Its signature dish, the Quadruple Bypass Burger, holds the Guinness World Record for the most calorie-laden burger. The burger includes four half-pound patties, three tablespoons of lard, 20 slices of bacon, eight slices of American cheese, 20 slices of caramelized onion cooked in lard, eight tomato slices, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, two tablespoons of ketchup, one tablespoon of mustard, and a bun—totaling a mind-boggling 9,982 calories.
The restaurant has a quirky hospital theme, complete with scantily clad, buxom “nurses” serving as waitstaff. Diners weighing over 350 pounds eat for free. If you can’t finish your burger, the nurses will cheerfully give you a playful spanking.
Sadly, some patrons of the Heart Attack Grill have passed away from cardiac arrest, including regular customer and unofficial spokesperson John Alleman, who died of a heart attack at a bus stop outside the restaurant. Another spokesperson, the 29-year-old, 6-foot-8, 575-pound Blair River, died in 2011 from pneumonia, likely due to his obesity. Despite these tragic events, the Heart Attack Grill continues to flourish in Las Vegas, often appearing on food and travel TV programs.
8. The Oprah Beef Scandal
Few individuals have exerted as much cultural influence as Oprah Winfrey, with her impact rivaling that of nations with standing armies or nuclear weapons. The so-called 'Oprah Effect' has reshaped industries. In 1996, Oprah launched Oprah’s Book Club, making any book she chose immediately soar to the top of the bestseller lists. Later that year, another show brought her even more notoriety.
During a segment on the beef industry, Oprah famously declared that she would never eat another hamburger. Beef prices plummeted soon after, hitting a 10-year low within two weeks. A group of Texas cattle ranchers filed a $10.3 million lawsuit against her, citing a strange defamation case in agricultural law. After four years of legal battles, a US District Judge dropped all charges in 2002. The scandal’s aftermath also saw the rise of Oprah’s self-proclaimed guru, Dr. Phil McGraw, who now gives advice on his own show. Following the trial, Oprah stated that she remained 'off burgers.'
7. The Monopoly Scandal
McDonald’s, the largest beef purchaser in the United States, is synonymous with hamburgers. However, the company’s massive success can be attributed more to its marketing brilliance than the taste of its food. One of their most infamous promotions was the Monopoly game. Game pieces attached to food and drinks could either win customers free items or collectable prizes like cars and cash. The game was managed by a third-party company, Simon Marketing, whose security chief, Jerome P. Jacobson, secretly kept the game pieces with the best prizes for years. He distributed the pieces through a network of associates who split the profits. In 2001, 21 Simon Marketing employees were indicted for their involvement in the scam, which brought in approximately $24 million.
One positive outcome from the Monopoly scandal occurred in 1995, when Jacobson sent a game piece worth $1 million to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Likely aware that the prize would come under heavy scrutiny if redeemed, he passed it along to the hospital. Although transferring game pieces violated contest rules, McDonald’s honored the prize, which was used to support the hospital's work treating children with cancer. When the full extent of the scandal was revealed years later, McDonald’s assured St. Jude’s they had no plans to reclaim the money.
While auditing processes are likely much stricter today, your chances of winning more than just a free burger in the McDonald’s Monopoly game are slim to none. According to the company’s website, the odds of winning the $1 million grand prize are about one in 3,050,412,898.
6. The First Burger
The hamburger is a surprisingly recent invention, and despite the many culinary figures claiming to have invented it, the most likely originator was Louis Lassen, a lunch-cart operator from New Haven, Connecticut. According to the tale, in 1900, Lassen served a worker a sandwich made of ground beef, thus creating the hamburger. Over 113 years later, the Lassen family still continues the tradition at Louis' Lunch, where burgers are cooked on vertical cast-iron gas stoves and served on plain bread. The only available toppings are cheese spread, tomatoes, and onions. Items like ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise are strictly prohibited. As the owners recount, students from nearby Yale University frequently try to sneak in ketchup, only to be kindly asked to leave.
5. Veggie Burgers
Veggie burgers have become a common offering in fast-food chains around the world, especially in countries like India, where a significant Hindu (who avoid beef) and Muslim (who avoid pork) population exists. In fact, you won't even find a regular hamburger at McDonald's in India.
Unfortunately, there is some evidence that veggie burgers may not be as healthy as they are often portrayed. The soy used in these burgers is frequently processed with hexane, a harmful air pollutant produced during gasoline refinement. This chemical can linger in the food, posing health risks. For example, in 2010, a worker at an Apple factory tragically passed away due to hexane poisoning while cleaning touchscreens with the substance.
4. Meat Cologne
Perfumes can contain some rather unpleasant ingredients, even when they are designed to be attractive. Examples include ambergris, a waxy substance produced in the sperm whale’s digestive system; castoreum, which comes from a beaver’s anal glands; and hyraceum, fossilized hyrax excrement. In 2008, Burger King launched its own fragrance, called 'Flame,' marketed as 'the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.' The Flame cologne even has its own website and is sold for around $4. Interestingly, Burger King isn't the only fast-food chain to enter the fragrance market; Pizza Hut also introduced a scent inspired by freshly baked pizza dough and herbs.
3. Immortal Burgers
One common 'experiment' conducted by fast-food reviewers involves leaving a plain hamburger out in the open for an extended period of time. Remarkably, even after weeks, the burger remains unchanged and does not rot. The conclusion often drawn is that these burgers are packed with so many preservatives that they cannot decay. Surely, any substance potent enough to prevent decomposition for months would have dreadful consequences for human organs.
The actual explanation is much less alarming (and far more friendly to your liver). Smaller burgers tend to dry out before they can begin to rot or grow mold. Larger burgers, like McDonald's Quarter Pounder, will typically show signs of mold growth before they dry out completely. This experiment is easy to replicate at home with a batch of homemade burgers, though a collection of preserved sandwiches might not be very appetizing to your guests.
2. Test-Tube Meat
Dr. Mark Post is spearheading a burger project at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where he has successfully cultivated beef in a lab by layering thousands of muscle strands to form a five-ounce burger. To ensure the muscle strands remain viable, Dr. Post uses Velcro to flex and 'exercise' them. Despite the absence of fat, which gives beef much of its flavor, Post asserts that the meat 'tastes reasonably good.' On August 5, 2013, Dr. Post plans to present this groundbreaking burger at a London event, where attendees can taste it for $325,000. This technology holds promise beyond food production; in the future, it may be possible to grow organs or even replacement limbs in labs. However, perfecting this technology will be a challenge, and many may object to 'playing God' with human stem cells.
Lab-grown meat represents a significant innovation that could address both ethical and environmental issues associated with traditional meat production. As the global population grows, so does the demand for meat, which exacerbates environmental strain. Experiments involving stem cells from pigs and cows grown in laboratories have shown potential for producing sustainable meat, and this technology could eventually lead to the cultivation of organs and tissue in labs for medical use.
1. The Environmental and Ethical Impact of Raising Hundreds of Cows for Meat Production
Many people likely avoid thinking too deeply about the origins of their meat. Even the most ethical slaughtering methods can seem quite gruesome. The cow is initially stunned (in earlier times, a sledgehammer was used, but today, captive bolt pistols are typically employed—similar to the weapon wielded by Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men). Afterward, it is hung upside down by its hind legs. The animal's throat is cut, allowing it to bleed out. Beef is too tough to consume fresh and must be either tenderized or, for those less refined, undergo a controlled decaying process.
Your steak most likely comes from a single cow, although some premium cuts may be ‘glued’ together. In contrast, ground beef for hamburgers is derived from the toughest and least desirable parts of the cow. These cuts are mixed together in large batches, meaning that a typical four-ounce burger from a fast-food chain may contain meat from at least 55 different cows, according to a 1998 study. In some cases, samples have been found to include meat from over 1,000 cows in one burger. This is especially concerning, as such a mix greatly raises the risk of foodborne illnesses like E. coli.
