23 Food Facts That Sound Very Fake But Are Completely True

"That all changed in the early '80s when McDonald's introduced Chicken McNuggets and brought them to a national audience. The fast-food giant had originally toyed with fried onions before landing on fried chicken. Their timing lined up with a broader shift in American eating habits that started in the late '70s, that saw many consumers begin moving away from red meat and toward chicken. This helped turn chicken nuggets from a niche innovation into a very popular food item, especially among children!"

"2. Taco Bell is the reason there are free soda refills at fast-food restaurants. In 1988, Pepsi (which owned the chain) partnered with Taco Bell on a promotion that quietly changed the fast-food industry: Taco Bell locations would offer free drink refills, something that was far from common at the time."

"The two moved to California and bought a ranch near Santa Barbara in 1954, and named it Hidden Valley Ranch. There, they began serving the dressing to their guests, who loved it and asked to take some home. Eventually, they started selling packets of the seasoning mix through the mail. The homemade mix became so popular that the couple turned it into a full business, packaging and distributing it as a dry mix in a mail-order business nationwide. By the 1970s, Hidden Valley Ranch dressing was sold in grocery stores across America. In 1972, Henson sold the brand to Clorox, which helped turn it into a household name."

McDonald’s introduced Chicken McNuggets in the early 1980s and brought them to a national audience. The company had previously tested fried onions before settling on fried chicken. The launch aligned with a late-1970s shift in American eating habits, where many consumers moved away from red meat toward chicken, helping nuggets become especially popular with children. Free soda refills at fast-food restaurants trace to a 1988 Pepsi promotion tied to Taco Bell, where locations offered free drink refills. Hidden Valley Ranch began when a couple moved to California in 1954 and served ranch dressing to guests. Requests to take it home led to selling seasoning packets by mail, later expanding into grocery store sales and a sale of the brand to Clorox in 1972.

Read at BuzzFeed