McDonald's, by the numbers
Very rarely is there an undisputed number #1 in today's day and age.
When it happens, it's something special to witness.
What it would have been like to see Michael Jordan courtside at Game 6 in the 1998 finals? Hearing Louis Armstrong play trumpet in Chicago with his boys?
My argument is that eating a meal from McDonald's in 2022 is another one of these moments. McDonald's is the GOAT (greatest of all time) by multiple factors.
Disclaimer: Don't eat too much McDonald's. Terrible for your health and the environment.
McDonald's, by the numbers
Many wouldn't argue with me after looking at the stats.
In the US, McDonald's is the most profitable, its brand is the most recognizable, and it has the largest number of locations of any chain in the US (about 18,000).
To chart all 18k of those datasets would've cost me $100, so instead I used this dataset that has a sampling of 10,000 locations from all fast food restaurants, and mapped the locations of McDonald's chains.
I did the same to Taco Bell and Burger King.
It's a random sampling, but anyone can see the difference in quantity when switching back and forth.
McDonald's, cultural impact
McDonald's is not just great in the US...it's global.
Without commenting on the casual xenophobia, McDonald's has put themselves into a position where they're seen as a safe haven in foreign countries.
This is because their meals are so consistent.
McDonald's has amazingly accomplished the hard job of becoming a chameleon while still staying true to its true essence, and as such, has become a brand that is burned into the mind of people all over the world, whether we like it or not.
That's GOAT-worthy, in my humble opinion.
McDonald's, scientific impact
It's due to McDonald's ubiquity that there is something called a Big Mac Index (BMI).
Coined by The Economist, the BMI is essentially a record of how much the McDonald's Big Mac sandwich costs in different countries.
It's a metric used to gauge the business health of a country, basing its logic on the idea that exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalize the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a burger) in any two countries.
And I think it's awesome.
Is there a Chik-Fil-A index? Not to my knowledge.
