Self study
Updated
Happy Birthday Big Mac
McDonald’s best-known burger turns 40 this year. Big Macs are sold in over 100 countries today, with the United States leading the pack at 550 million consumed annually. Japan is next, followed by Europe (specifically the combination of the U.K., Germany and France) and then Canada. There is a guy name Don Gorske, from Wisconsin and he claims to have eaten 23,000 Big Macs since 1972 having at least 2 every day. The Fond du Lac man said he hit the 23,000 milestone last month. Don said he eats this many Big Macs, and eats them every day, because his obsessive-compulsive disorder fueled his love for only Big Macs.
“I enjoy them every day,” said Gorske, 54. “I need two to fill me up.”
Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald’s track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption. Despite a diet some would call unhealthy, Gorske says he keeps himself in good shape. He says he’s 6-foot-2 and weighs 185 pounds, and walks as many as 10 miles a day. He used to order fries every day in the 1980s, but began to cut back in the ’90s. He now limits himself to once a month. I myself think that the highlight of McDonalds is the fries but on the other hand they are really high in sodium (salt) and are made of deep fried fat. I will certainly never eat them everyday. Each day he eats two Big Macs, which are made up of two beef patties, cheese and a special Mac sauce. Gorske has even written a book about his experience.
“Sometimes people call me a freak, but it doesn’t bother me. I just say, “respect people as they are,” he told The Associated Press. “I just want to make sure people understand I’m not going to change.”
He can instantly recall the eight days in which he failed to satisfy his craving. One was in 1988, the day his mother died, to respect a request she made.
“I made a promise to her and I always keep my promises,” he said. “I also promised her I wouldn’t cut my hair and in 20 years I haven’t.”
He twice failed to attack a Big Mac because of his job. A correctional-institution employee, he said a number of work emergencies kept him on the clock past midnight so he recorded those days as missed days. Three other times he was traveling and couldn’t find a McDonald’s. He also went Big Mac-less on Thanksgiving Day 2000, and during a 1982 snowstorm that prevented the local McDonald’s franchise from opening. “That’s when I started a habit where I kept them in the freezer,” he said. He keeps one or two burgers on hand but increases his inventory to four to five during the winter.
This issue was produced by Gabby, Ione and Viola
2008
