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Weird History Food (2022)
Season 1 • Episode 37 • Dave Thomas The Man Behind Wendy's
Weird History Food Season 1, Episode 37: Dave Thomas The Man Behind Wendy's
Weird History Food is going through the drive-thru for some Wendy's. Dave Thomas is best known for founding Wendy's hamburger restaurant chain in Columbus, Ohio. He became Wendy's TV spokesman in 1989. Dave opened his own restaurant on November 15, 1969: Wendy's, named after Thomas' 8-year-old daughter. Wendy's quickly caught on, and within less than a decade, had grown into a 1,000-store franchise. Watch Weird History Food Season 1, Episode 37 Dave Thomas The Man Behind Wendy's in HD free online. Enjoy high-quality streaming of Weird History Food Season 1, Episode 37 and share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Episodes
40 episodes
Who Was the Real Colonel Sanders?
Most folks know that Colonel Harland Sanders is the man who created KFC – and still resides on their buckets – but the real Colonel Sanders got up to a lot more than just frying chicken Kentucky-style. Who was Harland Sanders? In short, he was less “finger-lickin' good” and more butt-kickin’ badass.
15 min
The Dark and Seedy Origins of Wonder Bread
Let's dive into the History of Wonder Bread. Until the mid-19th century, your average loaf of bread was grainy, heavy, and dark. With innovations like mechanical slicers and refined flour, however, bread became white, fluffy, and shaped into the perfect portions to make a sandwich. The "best thing since sliced bread" hasn't always meant much, however, and the role of bread in social and political history is much more complex than a simple bread recipe. The Romans were able to distract the masses from social unrest by making sure there was plenty of "bread and circuses."
13 min
Zima Was Popular in the 90s -- Until People Tasted It
Let's take a Weird History Food journey to learn about Zima. People who grew up in the 1990s may feel some nostalgia when thinking about Surge, Shark Bites, or other discontinued foods from the '90s - and those of a certain age will remember Zima. The clear malt beverage was a huge hit when it debuted in 1993, but it wasn't long before Zima became a pop-culture punchline.
12 min
Chuck E. Cheese's Origin Story Is Sadder Than You Remember
Weird History Food is taking you back to relive Chuck E. Cheese - The real-life story of Chuck E. Cheese, the global pizza franchise, is one of hubris, technological advancement, and the shifting entertainment tastes of the United States. What started as the brainchild of a video game guru looking to update the arcade concept became a cheerfully retro fast-food juggernaut that is still seeking to define itself in the internet era.
13 min
Women Dominated The Beer Industry...Until They Were Declared Witches
Let's talk some Beer History! For thousands of years, the history of beer was dominated by women. Ancient people worshipped female beer goddesses, female brewsters who filled Viking beer halls, and female saints who performed beer miracles. In medieval Europe, alewives made a living selling beer from their homes - until men decided they were witches. In the 16th century, men grew suspicious of female brewers, who had their own income source.
12 min
Olestra | The Miracle Fat Substitute That Became a Pop-Culture Punchline
During the low-fat fad of the 1990s, Procter & Gamble believed it had attained the holy grail of low-fat yet flavorful snacks. P&G's fat substitute olestra was rebranded "Olean", and licensed to food manufacturers for use in chips and cookies. Unfortunately, for many consumers, olestra's side effects included nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, and what will forever go down in history as "anal leakage."
13 min
Do You Remember The Giant Pizza Wars From the 90s?
Weird History Food is taking you back to the 90s when Dominos, Little Caesars and Pizza Hut faced-off. With pizza, less is never more. More is more. More slices, more toppings, more cheese. Never was that more apparent than in 1993, when America's three biggest pizza chains - Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Little Caesars - launched nearly identical short-lived super-pizza concepts: the Bigfoot, the Dominator, and the Big! Big! Pizza, respectively. What all three pizzas had in common was that they were marketed not on how they tasted, but on how enormous and impractical they were.
13 min
How The California Raisins Became a National Phenomenon
Weird History Food is taking you back to the 80s to revisit the California Raisins. in 1986, Will Vinton and his advertising team at Foote, Cone & Belding launched a particularly innovative campaign that revolutionized the California raisin industry for the better part of a decade: the California Raisins. A fictional singing group made up of a quartet of claymation raisins who sang popular hit songs, the California Raisins - and Michael Jackson - appeared in television commercials in an effort to create an allure around the rather unremarkable dried fruit.
11 min
How SlimFast Became A Billion-Dollar Diet Craze Machine
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12 min
The Convoluted History Of McDonald's Characters
McDonald's has a menagerie of characters who romp about in a magical burgery world called McDonaldland, and it's as weird as you barely remember. McDonald's began with only a clown, but as the brand expanded to new markets - and appealing to children became the name of the game - the company branched out with more characters than could fit in a McDonald's ball pit. The McDonaldland characters were zanier than those of the other franchises. They were featured not only in commercials and toys but also in an animated series called 'The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald'.
11 min
The Rise and Fall of Planet Hollywood
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11 min
Every Pizza Style We Could Find In the United States
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17 min
Who Was the Real Chef Boyardee?
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12 min
Do You Remember the Cola Wars: Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi?
Weird History Food is reliving the sugary soda wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi were invented during the late 1800s, and over the course of the 20th century, they competed for dominance across the globe. Coca-Cola was the front-runner from the outset and remained the leader until the 1970s. As Pepsi pushed harder to seize control of the marketplace, Coca-Cola shoved back and, in true combat-like fashion, the Coke vs. Pepsi war was born.
15 min
The Rise and Fall of McDonald's Arch Deluxe
Weird History Food is taking you back to the 90s to relive one of McDonald's biggest and most delicious failures --- the Arch Deluxe. When it comes to finding success in the marketplace, knowing your competition is key. But even more important than understanding your competition is knowing your target customer - and this is the mistake McDonald’s made with the 1996 release of the Arch Deluxe burger.
11 min
The Spicy and Surprising History of Doritos
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11 min
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16 min
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11 min
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13 min
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20 min
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12 min
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14 min
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14 min
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Weird History is going to get some wings at the Hooters restaurant. While many people may be turned off by the idea of a restaurant called Hooters, the history of Hooters is actually full of weird facts that may make even those most resistant willing to give it a chance. Founded on April Fool’s Day in 1983, the original “restaurant” has expanded into several different business ventures: the brand sells merchandise and a yearly calendar, boasts a Las Vegas casino hotel, and hosts a yearly swimsuit pageant.
13 min
Bologna or Baloney? The History of Your Favorite Lunch Meat
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15 min
Stories About Your Favorite Halloween Candy
The top 10 candies weren’t surprising, but the breakdown of the favorites by state offered some interesting results. For instance, Ohio’s favorite Halloween candy is Blow Pops. In Montana, it’s Dubble Bubble Gum; Georgia’s fav is Swedish Fish and Lemonheads for Louisiana. But none of these four candies made the top 10 for the nation. Here are those list toppers in order of popularity, least first, with morsels of their sweet—and not-so-sweet —origins mixed in.
16 min
Is the Razorblades In Apples Halloween Story Actually Real?
Weird History Food is dispelling the Halloween myths of tainted candy! We've all heard the stories of somebody lacing delicious Halloween candy with poison, or the classic razorblade in an apple story, but is any of that true? Like any part of it? Join us as we explore the history of Halloween candy myths.
14 min
National Foods We Got Wrong
Weird History Food is uncovering the unlikely origin of some of your favorite meals. Food is an essential part of culture. As communities, states, and nations form their identities, food becomes part of how they see themselves and shapes the perceptions of others. Dining at an Italian restaurant, for example, means pasta, pizza, and the like, while the names of some foods even attest to national origins.
12 min
The History of the Big Mac
Weird History Food is discussing the Big Mac. Everyone's favorite burger at McDonald's, the Big Mac is probably the most iconic-looking sandwich out there. We're going to take a look back at Mac's early origins, its surprising tie-in to Bob's Big Boy, and where the Big Mac stands today. Get ready for two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
12 min
Weirdest Fast Food Menu Items From Foreign Countries
Weird History Food is going global for your Fast Food needs. For better or worse, Americans tend to think of themselves as the biggest junk-food consumers in the world. While one glance down your average American main street makes it hard to argue against that idea, it turns out most of the world is just as dedicated to their mass-produced artery-cloggers as we are. And all of the big chains know it.
12 min
American Foods That Are Banned In Other Countries
Weird History Food is gonna get your palate banned. Food is one of those things that immediately sets one country apart from another, and edible items or practices taken for granted in one country may in fact be banned somewhere else. For example, people eat many strange - and sometimes horrifying - foods in the US, some of which would raise eyebrows in almost any other nation.
15 min
Everyday Fruits And Veggies That Were Actually Man Made
Weird History Food is showing you the fruits and vegetables that seem natural but are actually man-made. Nowadays, many people like to know where their fruits and veggies came from - whether that's an organic farm across the country or an orchard a few miles away. But how many of us actually think about where our produce came from? As in, how it originated as food?
15 min
Breakfast Cereals We Wish They Would Bring Back
Weird History Food is going retro with your old favorite breakfast cereals. Walk down any breakfast cereal aisle in the United States, and you will find a plethora of options. There are often dozens of selections, each with variations on flavor and type. Sadly, some cereals that many enjoyed in childhood no longer exist. Whether it’s due to the public’s changing taste, a loss of license, or some other reason, some have simply vanished.
15 min
Dishes That Are Much Older Than We Realized
Avocado toast, goat cheese, alternative meat dishes - these are all that we'd consider 21st-century food trends. But did you know the bases of these dishes have been around a long time? In some cases, thousands of years? Our ancient human ancestors were no different from us in wanting tasty dishes, so they created some of the staple recipes that we take for granted today. From pancakes to pot pie to popcorn, different people in various pockets of the world were responsible for creating (or stumbling upon) some of our favorite foods today.
11 min
The Delicious History of TV Dinners
Weird History Food is peeling back the foil on this history of TV Dinners. With its aluminum or microwaveable plate, with separate compartments for meat, vegetable, and dessert, the TV dinner has a special place in food history and culture in the belly of American memories.
13 min
Dave Thomas The Man Behind Wendy's
Weird History Food is going through the drive-thru for some Wendy's. Dave Thomas is best known for founding Wendy's hamburger restaurant chain in Columbus, Ohio. He became Wendy's TV spokesman in 1989. Dave opened his own restaurant on November 15, 1969: Wendy's, named after Thomas' 8-year-old daughter. Wendy's quickly caught on, and within less than a decade, had grown into a 1,000-store franchise.
14 min
How the Waffle House Was Built
Weird History Food is gonna pull over and get a bite at the Waffle House. In 1955, two neighbors in Georgia opened up a restaurant. Since opening, The Waffle House has created its own culture, with its own unique language and customs, and has been the popular destination after the bars close and for anyone on a road trip.
12 min
Unusual Facts About Chocolate
Weird History Food is opening up a delicious video on Chocolate. In one form or another, chocolate has been with mankind for centuries. The delectable snack has an unusual European history. First viewed with suspicion, chocolate became medicine and finally turned thousands into chocoholics.
13 min
Some Crunchy and Creamy Facts About Peanut Butter
This Weird History Food video is gonna stick to the roof of your mouth. We're talking Peanut Butter. The peanut butter industry has been thriving for decades. With a wide variety of brands, tastes, and textures, it is one of the most versatile foods on the market. Due to a large assortment of culinary applications, peanut butter can be found almost anywhere. Some people would rather stick to the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, while others use the ingredient in everything they can, including ice creams, cookies, salads, soups, burgers, and even drinks.
16 min