Trivia # 22 : Hamburger

• The Hamburger got its name from Hamburg, Germany, a city where a kind of "hamburg steak" made of shredded meat once was a popular dish. 
• In 1921, Walter A. Anderson (a short-order cook) and E.W. Ingram (an insurance executive) founded White Castle in Wichita, Kansas. It is the oldest hamburger chain. They served steam-fried hamburgers, 18 per pound of fresh ground beef, cooked on a bed of chopped onions, for a nickel.
• The Big Mac was introduced in 1968. The price was 49 cents.
• Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers comprise 71% of the beef servings in commercial restaurants. (2001)
• 8.2 Billion burgers were served in commercial restaurants in 2001.
• The biggest hamburger ever served weighed 8,266 lbs. It was cooked in 2001 at the Burger Fest in Seymour, Wisconsin. Hungry hamburger fans can visit Seymour, the "Home of the Hamburger" and site of the Hamburger Hall of Fame, paying tribute to hamburger inventor Charles Nagreen. According to local legend, Nagreen served the first burger in 1885 at the Outagamie County Fair.
• Another large hamburger was made in Rutland, North Dakota. In 1982 the town made what was then the World's Largest Hamburger, 3,591 pounds, which was consumed by some 8,000 people.
• Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania has offered a 6 pound hamburger, named Ye Olde 96er (6 pounds = 96 ounces) since 1998. It comes garnished with 2 whole tomatoes, 1/2 head of lettuce, 12 slices of American cheese, a cup of peppers, 2 whole onions, plus large quantities of mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. No one has been able to finish one.