McDonald's Menu Evolution: Wild Stories & Flops

On March 24, McDonald's menu has evolved a lot since 1940, with hundreds of items coming and going over the years.

Burgers, chicken, salads, even pizza and pasta have all been tested and dropped, often due to weak sales, kitchen hassles, or efforts to streamline.

During the pandemic, some flops even paved the way for huge hits, like onion nuggets from the 70s that inspire chicken nuggets.

A few stand out for their wild stories.

Back in 1962, founder Ray Crock pushed a grilled pineapple and cheese hula burger against the fish sandwich prototype, but it lost badly.

Six to 350 handing filet-o-fish a permanent spot.

The late 80s McPizza took too long to cook, clashing with fast service.

Though one spot in Orlando keeps it alive alongside pasta.

Fans still mourn several, especially the 90s arch to Lux, a grown-up burger backed by a $200 million ad blitz that flopped hard by.

Turning off families.

Chicken selects and salads in cup holders were ahead of trends, but faded after a few years, while bone-in wings never fit the grab and go vibe.

More recently, items like fruit and yogurt parfaits and donut sticks vanished in the pandemic menu trim, and loaded cheesy bacon fries came in wind.

Quick. The Szechuan sauce from the Mulan Thai and exploded in popularity thanks to a cartoon show, sparking petitions, chaos at stores, and even a vintage.

Packet selling for over $14,000.

These experiments show McDonald's constant tweaking keeps the core menu fresh, even if not every idea sticks around.

That's the story for today.

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