McDonald’s has finally put an end to a decades-long debate after reportedly revealing what Grimace is actually meant to be.
Now, the fast-food chain character – famed for his blobby purple appearance – has been part of the McDonaldland crew for generations now, but despite his likeness appearing on advertisements, food branding and merch for half a century now – it’s clear that many Big Mac and McFlurry lovers out there had absolutely no idea what he even is.
Other characters include the likes of the Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, the Fry Kids, the McNugget Buddies and the Happy Meal Gang, but it’s Grimace who has kept us guessing all these years.
He was actually initially called ‘Evil Grimace’ in 1971 among the McDonaldland crew as he used his four arms to steal and carry milkshakes, but over time he’s had a pretty major PR makeover.
McDonald’s has finally reportedly revealed Grimace’s true identity after decades of confusion (Bo Zaunders / Getty Images)
“The original Grimace was scaly, mean‑looking, had four arms, and had no charm whatsoever,” McDonald’s former vice‑president of advertising Roy T. Bergold Jr. wrote in QSR magazine.
“He scared kids. We changed him to a soft, plush, two-armed blob of a sweetheart who only wanted McDonald’s milkshakes and to hang out with Ronald.”
But the 50-year confusion has now finally been cleared up as a report from the Daily Mail has revealed that Grimace is not, in fact, an ‘egglant emoji’, a ‘giant soda drop’ or even a ‘purple chicken nugget’ but is actually a massive, anthropomorphic taste bud.
This is backed up by something a Canadian McDonald’s manager told CBC News back in 2021, insisting Grimace was ‘an enormous taste bud’.
It didn’t take long for people to rush to social media to share their bewilderment at the bombshell announcement, with one X user writing: “Grimace being a taste bud this whole time has me f**king crying.”
Grimace is a huge, anthropomorphic taste bud (Marcus Ingram / Stringer / Getty Images)
A second chimed in: “WAIT I THOUGHT HE WAS A BIG A** GUMDROP…”
“Grimace being a giant taste bud doesn’t sit well with me,” lamented a third, while a fourth chimed in: “I never wondered what Grimace was before. Didn’t care. He’s just a purple… thing… McDonald’s didn’t have to tell me he’s a taste bud. That just makes things really weird.”
Another confessed: “The Grimace is a taste bud?! I’m forever broken, not sure if I’ll ever recover.”
Maccies fans will be forgiven for their confusion over Grimace’s identity following the Daily Mail report, as, prior to the taste bud reveal, McDonald’s has put out several cryptic comments about the character’s identity, with some very conflicting public statements suggesting Grimace might be something else entirely.
McDonald’s has put out some conflicting statements regarding Grimace’s ‘taste bud’ identity over the years (Natasha Campos / Stringer / Getty Images)
In 2012, the McDonald’s corporate account posted: “Grimace is the embodiment of a milkshake, though others still insist he’s a taste bud.”
Flash-forward to 2021 again, a McDonald’s spokesperson told People: “Whether he’s a taste bud, a milkshake or just your favourite purple blob — the best part about Grimace is that he means different things to different people.
“Whatever he is, we’re just proud our bestie makes people happy.”
Tyla has reached out to McDonald’s for a comment on the Daily Mail report.
Featured Image Credit: Natasha Campos/Getty Images for McDonald’s/Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
Topics: McDonalds, Food and Drink, Life, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle
Primatologist finally settles debate on whether 100 men could actually beat one gorilla
It’s been the hot debate of the internet
Life is full of important questions. Should you keep your eggs in the fridge? Would anyone noticed if I took another chocolate from Heroes tin? Or do I really need that shirt when my wardrobe is already filled to the brim?
Of course, what do you do when you can’t answer a burning thought in your mind? Take it to the internet, of course.
After all, websites like Reddit will be the first place to tell you that you are being an a**hole for getting angry at a person constantly getting up to use the plane’s toilet.
But the latest debate to grace social media is whether or not 100 men could best a single gorilla. And when I say it’s gone viral, it means we now have an expert weighing in on the debate.
Would you take this gorilla on in a fight? (Colin Langford/Getty stock images)
As you can imagine, opinions have vastly differed, with some insisting mankind would have a fighting chance if we banded together, while others claim we’d be goners.
The debate gained such traction that even Mr Beast offered to put it to the test. Taking to X, he said: “Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers?”
And he had a few takers, with one being Elon Musk, who said: “Sure, what’s the worst that could happen?”
However, primatologist Michelle Rodrigues has finally answered that question – and according to her, there’s some hope for the 100 men willing to take on the challenge.
Speaking to the Rolling Stone, Rodrigues said: “As strong as gorillas are, and as much damage as their canines can do, it’s not a fair fight, and a sensible gorilla would try to flee.
“But via numerical odds assessment, I don’t think there’s much chance of a gorilla winning the fight when they have 100 humans to contend with.”
In this scenario, the 100 men would actually stand somewhat of a winning chance (ChatGPT)
She goes on to say that aside from being outnumbered, gorillas are also ‘not typically aggressive and pick their battles’, adding that in the wild, gorillas are found in groups, so it’d be ‘rarer’ to find one on it’s lonesome.
And Ron Magill, a wildlife conservationist, has the same opinion.
He admitted that ‘gorillas are in fact gentle giants’, adding: “As a wildlife conservationist, I would never want to see this come to fruition. What this question proves is that some people have too much time on their hands and love to create scenarios that help feed morbid curiosity.”
You can say that again.
But despite his views, Magill noted that if all 100 men ‘are committed and go in united’, then the unthinkable may actually occur.
While it’s not exactly a nice scenario to think about, he added: “The group should be able to overtake the gorilla and inflict enough blunt force trauma combined with severe twisting of the head and neck while simultaneously inflicting severe abdominal punches, that the gorilla would eventually succumb to either a broken neck, internal organ damage, or asphyxiation.”
We, of course, hope nobody ever tries to pull this stunt off.
