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According to NBC News, 80% of Americans eat fast food every week – and let’s face it, we don’t get to keep our childhood favorites forever. But also, there’ve been a bunch of attempts at greatness that crashed and burned. Enter the folks at Mashed.com, who have made a list of the flops based on the year that you were born. Here’s a sampling of what they came up with. If you don’t see your birthday year below check out the full list HERE.
- 1968 – 1970: Kentucky Roast Beef – KFC tried to get into the ham and beef game and was successful in some test markets but “Kentucky Roast Beef ‘n Ham” and “Kentucky Roast Beef” couldn’t compete with their chicken items, so they flamed out and were dropped entirely.
- 1971 – 1977: KFC’s Ribs – Another bust from KFC with some people saying the “ribs” were more like “meat-like paste” spread on some bones. The chain is currently trying out a new chicken-based variation in South Korea according to Brand Eating.
- 1978: McDonald’s Onion Nuggets – Deep-fried onion cubes that were the predecessors to Chicken McNuggets but these were a complete flop with some Reddit users commenting that they were “just wrong.”
- 1979 – 1980: McSpaghetti – McDonald’s rolled out McSpaghetti, fettuccine Alfredo and lasagna in the late 1970s but none of these stuck around with most people saying the McSpaghetti was too sweet. Even though it failed in the US, AZ Central notes that you can get it in the Philippines with a side of nuggets or fries.
- 1984: McDonald’s McDLT – This was a bust due to packaging issues. The sandwich separated the hot and cold portions of the burger in the Styrofoam container, but it was too strange to catch on despite being tasty. It was discontinued in 1991.
- 1996: McDonald’s Arch Deluxe – This was one of Mickey D’s most epic failures, the chain spent $150-million on an advertising campaign to introduce this high-end burger. It had peppered bacon, Dijonnaise sauce and a potato bun, but fast-food customers didn’t buy in.
- 2000: McDonald’s Salad Shakers – These seemed to be a great idea with an inexpensive salad that came in three varieties, but competition was tough and they were dropped after three years.
- 2003: McDonald’s McCrab – It set out to be like an East Coast crab cake but due to too many processed ingredients and not enough fresh ones it was a major fail.
- 2005: Burger King’s Enormous Omelet Sandwich – A huge sandwich full of fat and calories that was popular with truckers but not the general public.
Source: mashed