> In 1921, which of the following fast food chains was the first to open?And the answer is: White Castle. Photo courtesy: Bruce MarlinThe fast food chain White Castle was founded inWichita Kansas in 1921. Twenty-seven years later, in 1948, the first McDonald'srestaurant opened in San Bernardino, California. Burger King first opened a fewyears later in Florida in the early 1950s, while the first Wendy's opened in1969 in Columbus, Ohio.The fast food industry is one that has grown with nostalgia for the Americandream, and shows no signs of slowing down. Fast food culture is now a worldwidephenomenon, affecting everything from restaurant culture to diet trends to popculture. While White Castle was the first chain restaurant to open its doors in1921, it’s thanks to the ingenuity of McDonalds’ salesman and later owner RayKroc that fast food chains truly took off to become the easily-accessible, cheapmeals we know and love today. In 1948, Maurice “Mac” and Richard McDonald bought eight malt mixers fromsalesman Ray Kroc for their modest, San Bernardino hamburger restaurant.Intrigued by the need for so many mixers in such a small shop, Kroc paid a visitto the restaurant in 1954. What he discovered was revolutionary: burgers at halfthe price of its competing restaurants, a self-service line eliminating the needfor waitresses, pre-cooked burgers with record-time returns. Kroc knewimmediately that the McDonald brothers were working with something special. By1955, they had launched the first McDonald’s franchise location in Des Plaines,Illinois. By the end of the decade, there were over 1,000 locations. Other small businesses looking to create an enterprise began to take a cue fromKroc and McDonald’s success. Steadily, more and more chain restaurants began topop up as businesses such as Burger King and Wendy’s sought to fulfill theconsumer’s desire for quick, cheap, delicious food. Today, there are over 14,000McDonald’s locations within the United States alone, and around 40,000 globally(hungry yet?).