Often when you look back into history, certain events and moments stand out above the rest. By the time history is made, some of the more mundane details make space for the mysterious and unexplained coincidences. But today, we’re looking at facts, 5 moments in time that were either shaped by the hamburger or affected by it in some way.

1. The start of the fast food dynasty

When we wrote a previous article,

the history of the burger, we came across this nifty little nugget: White Castle played just as big a role as MickeyD’s did in the creation of the fast food era.

While McDonalds revolutionized the process by being the first to use the assembly line in their restaurant, White Castle can be given the acclaim for taking something that was considered to be lowly and giving it new life.

The White Castle chain was completely designed around the hamburger. Though the hamburger had been sold for quite some time at events like the circus and county fairs, it wasn’t exactly considered to be King’s food. In fact, hamburgers were widely considered to be made of meat offcuts. White Castle wanted to give the burger a shiny new reputation by creating new associations of transparency, cleanliness and convenience to the burger. They reflected this through their name and the design of their restaurants.

2. The almost one-ton burger

No, we’re not joking. Something as awesome as this should make headlines, every day, consecutively for all the years to come so that no-one could ever forget it. The record was set on the 2^nd September 2012 after the burger weighed in at 913,54kg (2,014lb) - about as much as a medium-sized car.

The total weight of the burger is not the only impressive digit that made it into the Guinness world record with the burger that day. The 6 ingredients which were added to give the burger its delicious aroma and flavour weighed 107,95kg (238lb) all together and all formed part of the record. The burger was then tested by the Guinness World Record representative who said it was one of the most remarkable experiences that year for him.

The ingredients were as follows:

Tomatoes: 23.81kg (52.5lb)

Lettuce: 22.68kg (50lb)

Onion: 27.22kg (60lb)

Pickles: 8.62kg (19lb)

American cheese: 18.14kg (40lb)

Bacon: 7.48kg (16.5lb)

The Black Bear Casino resort team in the USA is responsible for the amazing feat and it’s safe to say that this whopper tops and stops all other “whopper stoppers” out there.

Take a look at a time lapse video of this massive undertaking, plus the Guinness record account of the process

3. The day Muhammed Ali proved he’s got a great sense of humour

Before we roll out with this one, it’s not intended to offend anyone, no matter which race or class you belong to.

Racial discrimination is a hard pill to swallow. It’s degrading, frustrating and it isolates the person who the discrimination is aimed at. However, Muhammed Ali managed himself well when he was refused a burger at a restaurant.

As the story goes, Muhammed Ali had just returned from Rome and had won the gold medal for the Olympic light-heavyweight title. He’d walked into a restaurant he’d previously been kicked out of because of the colour of his skin, and put the medal on the table for everyone to see. Before he could order the attendant told him "We still don't serve negroes," And Muhammed Ali’s reply? "That's OK,” "I don't eat 'em."

BAM!

We don’t really know if that’s 100% the truth, and will continue working to verify it. However, if it is the bona fide truth, we’re deeply impressed. It’s pretty amazing to stare discrimination straight in the face and make a joke of it.

4. When North Korea was graced by the Kim Jong ll Biography

The hamburger was part of that biography. According to Kim Jong Ill’s [official] biography, he was responsible for the solution to hunger among his students and teachers. His intuitive invention is known as “double bread with meat” and was born in 2000. The people of North Korea are taught that this is a fact.

Kim Jong Il’s legacy was massive and his death left a hole in the hearts of the North Korean people, but his rule was characterized by secrecy and misrepresentations. Because North Koreans do not have access to the internet, there is no way of them finding answers to contradict what they’ve been taught from childhood already. According to North Korean Government officials, the reason citizens of North Korea do not have the internet is to protect and uphold the reputation of the rest of the world.

Of course, the rest of the world knows that the hamburger has been around a lot longer than the year 2000.

5. The day Fuel Shack was born

We serve plenty of other foods – hotdogs, or dawgs as we call them; pizza; pasta; chicken; and a pretty amazing combination of cheese and fries. Despite that, it’s our burgers that really draw all the attention.

Since we opened our doors for the first time, we’ve grown exponentially and we’re so happy to have just launched a signature store in KL that’s already attracted a big gathering, so there are great times ahead.

We would have put this point at the very top of the list and then considered that it may look just a touch like a self-promotional post. The thing is, we believe in our product 100% and the people do too. If you’re not already part of our Twitter community, then come on over and introduce yourself. We’re a friendly and exciting bunch, plus we all love burgers.

Though the burger has made an immense impact on society today and has literally infiltrated almost every country in the world, these 5 tasters of information are probably the sauciest you’ll get when it comes to the burger. Have any of your own burger stories? Share them with us on twitter.