Question

From 1980 to 2024, a Big Mac's price increased from $0.50 to $8, yet it lost 40% of its size.

Answer 1

This statement is primarily false; while the price of a Big Mac has significantly increased from the 1980s to today, the claim that it lost 40% of its size is untrue. A Big Mac cost around $0.50 in the early 1980s and currently costs significantly more, closer to $8 in many locations, which is a 40% price increase; however, it is not a 40% size decrease. While there may have been slight changes to the Big Mac's size over the years due to recipe adjustments, the claim of a 40% size reduction is untrue.

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/select/big-mac-index-what-you-need-to-know/#:~:text=Big%20Mac's%20Price%20Is%20Up,What%20You%20Need%20To%20Know&text=Well%20the%20price%20of%20a,over%20the%20last%2010%20years.&text=The%20burger%20now%20costs%20an,over%20the%20last%2010%20years.&text=Try%20a%20new%20budgeting%20technique.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/#:~:text=Big%20Mac%20index%20worldwide%202024&text=At%208.07%20U.S.%20dollars%2C%20Switzerland,dollars%20in%20the%20Euro%20area.

Answer 2

This is misleading to promote as factual and the universal truth, there is no credible information available that actually tracks a 40% decrease in size. The price of $8 is also misleading in the sense that prices are constantly fluctuating based on local economics, including the cost of raw materials, wages, and tax rates.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-mac-price-size/
https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/

Answer 3

Although this rumor went viral online, there is no evidence to support this claim. A simple search on this web of this rumor, provides you with information to the contrary of this claim. For example statista, an online platform that specializes in data gathering, found that although the big mac started at under a dollar when introduced, the average price of a big mac in the US in 2024 is $5.69, much less than the $8 that was rumored. As for the size of the big mac decreasing, in an interview with Zachary Brewer, a former mcdonalds worker, he said that there have been changes over the years in bun recipes, meat fat content, and types of onion and cheese. But size wise, nothing has changed. Along with that, a spokesperson for mcdonalds told yahoo news that there has been no changes to the size of its burgers.

Source:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/#:~:text=Big%20Mac%20index%20worldwide%202024&text=At%208.07%20U.S.%20dollars%2C%20Switzerland,dollars%20in%20the%20Euro%20area 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-mac-since-1980/  

Comments

I like how you mentioned statistics to prove that the article's claim was false. I'm wondering if statista.com is a credible source? It is somewhat difficult to tell from their website, and they don't list a lot of sources of where they get their data. I also think it would have been helpful if you had included the links supporting the claims from Zachary Brewer and the McDonald's spokesperson.