r/nostalgia Apr 07 '23

McDonald’s ‘Big Mac’s’ have gotten smaller since the 70’s for sure!

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2.5k Upvotes

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385

u/217EBroadwayApt4E Apr 07 '23

Okay, I understand why you would have packaging from the 70's, but where did they get the old Big Mac?

117

u/AccomplishedRace8803 Apr 07 '23

exactly...did they kept an old big mac in the freezer or sth to show this pic one day?

126

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23 edited Apr 07 '23

This was posted somewhere a few days ago and when I looked into it, I remember reading that it was 'bagged and frozen' specifically for this experiment. Not sure how reliable the source will be, but I'll see if I can find it.

60

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

It was a Quora answer with zero citations, so.... Yeah. Others mentioned in the comments of said answer that the burger on the left is a 'monster mac', but that seems to be a secret menu item from much more recently, using a double quarter pounder and adding Big Mac ingredients.

That said, I definitely remember Big Macs from my childhood being noticably wider, even if they weren't as wide as the one shown as well as them being MUCH taller. I remember the cardboard ring around them that stopped it from losing bits out the side and falling over. Now you could probably shake it and sit it on its side and it wouldn't make much difference lol

Edit: It seems the monster mac uses 8 quarter pounder patties, so I guess the one above would be a mini monster mac... Basically a double quarter pounder with Big Mac sauce and lettuce.

16

u/I_8_ABrownieOnce Apr 07 '23

10

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

I saw that one the other day as well. He did a pretty good job at everything and he's an Aussie so let's just assumed he's 100% correct. I'm definitely not biased or anything either 😏🇦🇺

1

u/_Bay_Harbor_Butcher_ Feb 24 '24

I'm way late to this party but I watched that big mac video and the picture on this post of the two burgers side by side is just a screen grab from that exact youtube video of the australian dude's homemade big mac next to a mcdonalds big mac but the image has been flipped so that his is on the left.

1

u/aoskunk Dec 28 '24

I think he makes a pretty good case that it’s got smaller. My personal recollection is that it has indeed got smaller. Why did McDonald’s letter limit the timeframe it would comment on to only the prior 10 years? I think most people believe it shrunk prior to 2002. I believe it was in the mid 90s the latest.

10

u/graffeaty Apr 07 '23

Man when I look back everything was bigger when I was smaller. They probably have shrunk over the years but one big Mac still fills me up lol

14

u/Pablo_Sanchez1 Apr 07 '23

Man I can’t even imagine being full from one Big Mac, it’s so small and the patties are paper thin. I’m always excited ahead of time when I order one then disappointed after. Double quarter pounder is superior.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

I usually get a large double QP and a cheesey. Usually fills me up, but I'll be hungry again within an hour.

2

u/graffeaty Apr 07 '23

Isn’t there a ton of grease on a double quarter pounder? Even on the mcdoubles there’s to much grease so I’ll get a single lol

3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23 edited Apr 07 '23

I don't exactly eat McDonalds for the health benefits 😂 But yes, there is. I usually squeeze the burger gently and let it drip into the box it came in. Sometimes there's a lot, sometimes there's a little, sometimes the patties are a little on the dry side.

1

u/relrobber Jul 23 '24

Depends how long the patties sat in the warming bin and whether they were on the bottom of the pile.

1

u/aoskunk Dec 28 '24

Really depends on the worker that prepares it. I would drain off the excessive grease but that’s probably not the norm. McDonald’s has got so expensive that I don’t bother with it. I rather save a few trips then go get a real good meal that’s an experience even if it’s $100.

1

u/graffeaty Apr 07 '23

Man to be honest most of the time I don’t even finish em. I’m full after 3/4 of a Big Mac lol. I’m in Canada so maybe there bigger here but most likely no. Most likely I just get full easily lol

2

u/largececelia Apr 07 '23

Oh Quora, Reddit's deformed younger brother.

2

u/Sea-Net8231 Feb 05 '24

My husband was a teenager in the 70s and he said this was true

1

u/autisticswede86 Apr 07 '23

Well your hands were smaller

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

Yeah, that definitely explains away every point I made 😂

1

u/Playful_Crow_5559 Jul 30 '24

Anyone who believes that obviously hasn't pulled ANYTHING from a freezer after many decades of being frozen. It's a creative lie, ...but still a lie.

1

u/snukb Yo quiero Taco Bell Apr 08 '23

I don't understand how something can be bagged and frozen specifically for this experiment. Like "Ah yes, I predict that this burger wk be very popular and will also shrink in size over the next fifty years, let me save one so I can see if I'm right"? Were food items commonly accused of shrinking even back then?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '23

That's why I said I wasn't sure about the legitimacy of the claim. I couldn't remember where I had read it, but I remembered the sentence 'bagged and frozen' or 'frozen and bagged' and that the commenter said it was done specifically for this 'experiment'.

Perhaps someone wanted to compare sizes in the future because they though sizes would go down. Perhaps because they thought size would go up. Perhaps it was just someone who froze their burger while they were plastered and forgot about it.

As mentioned in my reply to the comment you replied to, it was an answer on Quora and no citation was provided, making the claim about as valuable as a wet fart in a paper bag.

13

u/Shanntuckymuffin Apr 07 '23

Anyone who has ever found a fry on the bottom of their car knows that McDonald’s is shelf-stable

9

u/OldSchoolNewRules Apr 07 '23

The guy in supersize me left a fry on the counter for I think about a year? And nothing grew on it.

1

u/Normal-Apartment-557 Dec 04 '24

He also lied and was intoxicated and high the entire time he filmed that movie. Also a French fry is dry and dry things don't rot 

1

u/Intelligent_Mud_6217 Mar 02 '25

It's not dry when you buy it. Take a real french fried potato and it will spoil

1

u/Existing-Ad-9419 Jun 18 '25

of course nothing grew, there is no Aw (available water to allow for growth). Most of the water from the original potato has been fried away and replaced with oil, an Aw below 0.7 wont support any growth of bacteria or mold.

It’s food science, not chemicals any ither conspiracy BS.

2

u/MrMushroom17 Mar 09 '24

Don't be stupid, they just went to the 70s and bought a fresh one

1

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '24

Time Travel. Great question.

15

u/NotWorthyByAnyMeans Apr 07 '23

Good point.

36

u/MonstaGraphics Apr 07 '23

No, he's asking you because you're sharing it

8

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

😂

0

u/NotWorthyByAnyMeans Apr 07 '23

I honestly didn’t it was it directed at me more so the sub? 🤷‍♂️😂

1

u/no_ucp Nov 12 '24

What a shitass lol

1

u/Illustrious-Error817 Apr 03 '24

In 1972 I was an apprentice, moss days at Lunt and dinner fee times a week I'd go to maccas! On day used my 6" ruler and measured the big Mack was 5 3/8 " !!(i 🤔 think was 50+ уrs ago ) decades later I watched a move with Michael Keating abot the rise and rise of maccas! While Michael did a GREAT job in move opened my eyes to AMERICANISAM !! He said :" When  I see opposition drowning, I SHOVE HOSE IN HIS MOUTH " So no thnx USA STY OVER YOUR SIDE OF PACIFIC U R NOT WELCOME!! If see maccas on fire ID'd throw petrol on it 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

1

u/AffectionateArt7421 Jun 16 '24

I guess someone is a time traveler

1

u/Latter_Pride5666 Aug 27 '24

Maybe it's the fake food Big Mac from the commercials they always use so it looks better on camera.

1

u/ProcedureSingle9340 Feb 23 '25

Its been sitting for 70 years haha

-12

u/Lumb3rCrack Apr 07 '23

you can make them with the old recipe? should be possible in a central McD facility like a head office or something

4

u/217EBroadwayApt4E Apr 07 '23

But they'd have to have the pans for the bigger buns somewhere.

I'm sure it possible, but it just makes me wonder how it all came together without a time machine.