Food Theory: McDonald’s Free Food is a SCAM!

Special thanks to Ritual for sponsoring this episode!
Get 30% off your first month of Ritual go to ritual.com/FOOD30
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease
Have you heard, Loyal Theorists? McDonald’s is giving away FREE food for LIFE! All you have to do is enter their “Gold Card” contest! Unlimited Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets, and McRibs? That’s the dream! Well, maybe not. . . You see, there’s something DISTURBING that McDonald’s doesn’t want you to know. Today I’m revealing McDonald’s dirty little Gold Card secret!
Get Your TheoryWear! ► theorywear.com/
Check out the Reddit! ► / gametheorists
SUBSCRIBE for Every Theory! ►► bit.ly/2CdCooV
Need Royalty Free Music for your Content? Try Epidemic Sound.
Get A 30 Day Free Trial! ► share.epidemicsound.com/theFoo...
Want More FOOD THEORY?
The Dark History of McDonaldland ►► • Food Theory: The Dark ...
The McRib Conspiracy! (McDonalds) ►► • Food Theory: The McRib...
The Many Lies Chicken Nuggets ►► • Food Theory: The Many ...
The Secret of McDonalds Ice Cream ►► • Food Theory: McDonalds...
McDonald's is NOT a Restaurant! ►► • Food Theory: McDonald'...
Join our other Theorist Communities!
Game Theory! ► bit.ly/1qV8fd6
Film Theory! ► bit.ly/1dI8VBH
Credits:
Writers: Matthew Patrick and Brittany Leigh Turnbull
Editors: Alex "Sedge" Sedgwick, Koen Verhagen, and Warak
Assistant Editor: Caitie Turner (Caiterpillart)
Sound Editor: Yosi Berman
#McDonalds #FastFood #ChickenNuggets #BigMac #McRib #McFlurry #GoldCard #FoodTheory #MatPat #GameTheory #FilmTheory

[@mbanerjee5889]

I seriously can't afford McDonald's anymore. If they want my money they are going to have to bring back the dollar menu.

[@noseboop4354]

Go get a job at McDonald's, then you can get free food from them.

[@notyoutube2599]

@@noseboop4354 AHAHAH

[@JameyMcQueen]

@@noseboop4354 Haha, very funny.

[@saturationstation1446]

@@noseboop4354 depending, most places will fire you for taking food. especially if its the same amount of calories you are burning doing the labor there.

[@piotradamczyk6740]

@@noseboop4354 not where i'm from, unless You litterally steal it.

[@charleswaldon8362]

It's getting scary how expensive it is to even go to McDonald's.. especially breakfast.. they are more pricey than the 3 nearest actually breakfast restaurants in the area. I am a little blown away by the amount of people still going.. McDonald's has to find its way back to affordability or become a stomach churning memory.. the quality is way down, and prices way up..

[@Kyosumari]

And the reason for that is profits, and if it's done slowly enough, the people don't immediately notice. They grow acclimated or complacent. BUT, you're right, it wont last forever, hopefully, because they've gone down the shitter ever since they got rid of the dollar menu IMO -- I knew more and more people would start to get upsetti spaghetti about them eventually.

[@grabble7605]

@@Kyosumari "Eventually" What a fun lie. Nobody will EVER do anything. They release all their tension sobbing online then go back to being doormats because they're too dim to organize and do obsessed with the weak lie of pacifism to engage in meaningful (read: violent) revolt.

[@SangoProductions213]

*sees people who never graduated to real jobs striking for $21/hour* Sorry bud, I don't think prices are going down. *Sees those same people get fired and completely automated, ruining the entry level opportunities for teenagers everywhere* Well, OK, nevermind. Mass production ahoy!

[@damonskyheart9097]

@@SangoProductions213 Minimum wage jobs are real jobs mate. Otherwise they wouldn't exist in this real world we live in. Plus, when it was introduced in America the minimum wage was meant to support a family with only a single revenue of income. Double Plus, if minimum wage had been raised with inflation it would have been $21 seven years ago. Pull the other one.

[@Tom-tg2jl]

A family of 4 could have 4 McDonald’s combo meals, or like 4 ribeye steaks and a bag of actual potatoes for the same price but people keep going lol, it’s the convenience.

[@OmegaZyion]

There's something inherently disgusting about giving free fast food for life cards to people who could afford to pay gourmet chefs to fix all of their meals and still have enough money left over to buy a small country.

[@pietro4507]

I mean, it makes sense. It is an incredible marketing for them and they don't even have expenses, because they clearly aren't gonna use it.

[@NarikGaming]

​@@pietro4507 You'd be surprised. Warren Buffett eats McDonald's every day and uses that card whenever he can

[@ner.tan11]

if McDonald's cared about people and not keeping the rich rich so they stay rich, they'd still have a dollar menu. It's not like they can't afford to sell $.50 burgers anymore, they only care about money

[@callistamccracken3744]

I mean that's one reason he's Warren Buffett, thrifty where he can​@@NarikGaming

[@rylee5723]

The fact that this is only a month old and the prices are already way off. Working at McDonald’s myself I witness these prices go up almost $2 in a month it’s insane. 😭

[@maylin1986]

Just curious. Does McDonald's allow you to eat free food on your break? I watched a video, that you can get a meal 50% off if you use the app. But I figure your break is most likely 30min. So, I don't see there being any room for a refridgerator and so, you're prone to have to buy food there just to find something quick to get back on the floor. I guess Wendy's has a $4 limit on food for free... that's like, one sandwich honestly. :/ I could get a sandwich and a fry and frosty I believe when I worked for a Wendy's 10+ years ago pre-covid. 🤷‍♀️

[@fireballcodty121]

@@maylin1986depends on the location you work at, when i worked at wendy’s i got $15 worth of free food per shift but i never used the full amount, when i worked at mcdonald’s i got $10 for free food. again, it just depends on the owner/manager and location

[@jeremykothe2847]

@@maylin1986 I once knew a guy who worked at a chocolate factory. Their policy was "eat anything you want, just don't make a mess, do it on breaks, and account for it so we know". The rationale being: The alternative (banning free chocolate) would mean employees would steal it, leading to increased costs of trying to prevent them, firing/hiring, tracking where stock went, having to re-produce it unexpectedly etc. etc. Instead, offering free "all you can eat" generally settled into a very reasonable cost, since nobody can seriously eat that much chocolate.

[@ajjamsen694]

Pretty sure MatPat is now blacklisted from ever winning any of these contests "Crap! He's actually doing research and reading the small print!"

[@itskyle5766]

😂 😅

[@viensolis]

@@itskyle5766 no. He’s part of the club. You have to be in order to get this big on youtube.

[@SapphireDragon357]

Although to be fair, at 2:08, the small print was just the script to The Bee Movie. :P

[@electrictroy2010]

HE READ THE RULES WRONG. The gold card is a gift card with $1040 added each year. Winner can spend in just a few days, or stretch it out. There’s no restriction to just 2 meals a week .

[@VivaSativaMusic]

@@electrictroy2010 You've been spamming this on every top comment when he didn't misread the rules, he just divided 1040 by 52

[@jannintime1100]

Food theory idea: Could a human being survive on only getting water by eating watermelons? There is a lot of water in watermelons (duh), but would there be any consequences for not drinking plain water and eating watermelons instead?

[@taviebrown2271]

I mean, watermelons have fiber and sugars, so how would that impact a diet?

[@kalmeiram.2958]

When you are told "you should be drinking 'X' number of ounces of water a day", it's not backed up by science. The average person gets enough water, or close to it from the food they eat alone. The people who need to drink water are people who are sweating a lot, people who eat a lot of food low in water content (like nuts, jerky, bread products, etc.), or people with certain health problems. It's also possible to drink too much water and get water poisoning.

[@fatlittlebigslim]

Water is water regardless if you "eat" it or drink it, for exemple people living on a fruitarian diet (raw vegans that only eat fruits) usually never need to drink any extra water since they get everything from the fresh fruits they consume.

[@Missespelt]

@@fatlittlebigslim is that why they end up withering away

[@deleted-something]

I doubt it

[@diegoguerrero9438]

This video aged like fine wine. I was left shocked when I remembered that the breakfast platter used to cost $5.00. Its now $7.59, that doesnt seem like a lot but this video is only 10 months old!

[@spankynater4242]

You can thank brandon for that.

[@thatwasonce]

Depends where you live and which McDonalds even for a big breakfast with hotcakes near me prices are: $5.79, $6.29, $6.69, for the first three on the app all in the same city

[@Void_Dragon]

I just go on the app and see if they misprice anything. Last time, they accidentally put a bacon cheeseburger as "$0.00" so naturally I found that you can only get 20 of one item through the app as the cap.

[@juliajohnson4080]

My uncle once won a sports car from a sweepstakes, but he took the alternative prize: the money that the sports car was worth. He bought a practical car instead. Pretty smart and kinda what MatPat is suggesting in this video!

[@electrictroy2010]

Kinda… except cars depreciate until worth nothing. Investment in a generalized stock or mutual fund will Appreciate (long term).

[@jolenemathews]

@@electrictroy2010 you can't travel to work with an investment. Purchases for the short term take precedence over those for the long-term

[@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN]

@@jolenemathews public transportation exists tho, americans just forgot how it works due to lack of planning along with geography in some areas and also well... *_CARS_*

[@ToyotaTacomaOfficial]

Yep

[@MrRedstoner]

@@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN That unfortunately depends on where you live. Looking at you, USA

[@monkeyking9863]

fun fact, Burger king saved Robert Downey Jr's life (made him realize he needed to get off drugs) and he got a Burger king gold card for sharing his story

[@msmaria5039]

I thought it was for the Burger King appearance in Iron Man. But cool story.

[@monkeyking9863]

@@msmaria5039 thats actually why Burger king is in Iron Man and why Robert Downey Jr was iron man in the first place. it was his first role after being drug free to show people he actually turned his life around

[@astrofish6163]

I read an article and apparently the burger was so bad he quit drugs? I don't think that's good marketing, unless that wasn't the real story.

[@monkeyking9863]

@@astrofish6163 it is, the problem was that he was on so many drugs the burger did not taste good. basically he realized that he was on so many drugs he could not enjoy the good things in life (such as the burger) so to be able to taste food again he chose to get off drugs (not trying to make it sound easy, he put alot of work into stopping)

[@astrofish6163]

@@monkeyking9863 didn't think about it like that, he was so lost in the sauce only coke gave him any dopamine.

[@voidedgaming2034]

MatPat: mcdonalds expects you to die at 66 MatPat: the national life expectancy is 79 MatPat: that sure sounds like more than 3 decades to me

[@rougeknight4029]

I think he was talking about the card lasting 50 years

[@voidedgaming2034]

@@rougeknight4029 Nah you know, you might be right tbfh

[@heroofwild2853]

I’m late, but quick theory to what happened: During a episode meeting, a member of the team told MatPat it was a 13 year difference. MatPat hears 30 years, and writes down “three decades” in his notes. Unfortunately, none of the editing notices. I literally have no idea what actually happened, but this is how I rationalized it

[@spankynater4242]

Yeah, I scratched my head at that one.

[@aerialapexgamer3121]

I enjoy Mat’s voice a lot, of course, but it’s really nice hearing Dan’s voice in the small handful of episodes he’s in!

[@LeviLore]

2:07 editor thought he was real smooth fitting the entire Bee Movie Script in the McD's Gold Card 😂

[@omaryousef3644]

You actually read that

[@Artthehufflepuff]

I thought that's what it was

[@WhakaNiaMai]

My theory is that the version of the card they give to the people they usually choose are probably less limited because they are rich, famous, and from the list you shared, mostly old and probably hate McDs but like having the card as a novelty to flash around. It's just marketing. Those kinds of people no doubt limit their own McDonalds intake, if they eat it at all. They wouldn't give that to people who actually like McDonalds and could actually depend on the card to feed themselves and their families because they'd lose too much money.

[@shannonmorton8945]

While this is probably largely true, I have heard that Warren Buffet for example eats McDonalds literally every single day

[@Jrod859]

@@shannonmorton8945 I was about to say the same. I wouldn't be surprised if Warren Buffet regularly used his card as a sort of coupon because of how frugal he is with his money

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

Having Warren Buffet in their restaurant every single day is the best kind of advertisement they could ever have, I bet Buffet alone is worth millions to McD in PR and goodwill alone. Imagine if they had done even a single commercial on that theme? The cost of that Gold Card wouldn't even have covered the cost of the jingle.

[@atomicgator5207]

I imagine there are still limits. For example, a savvy entrepreneur might try to milk an unlimited card to feed his entire staff lunch every day. All but eliminating the cafeteria budget for one of his properties. And I don't think McDonalds would like that very much.

[@atomicgator5207]

The more I think about it, celebrities tend to have access to good lawyers. So you know even the cards handed out to the rich and famous have fine print. In fact it probably has more! 😀

[@isaacbrown4506]

I'll be God damned if I ever pay almost $60 for a burger, I'll become the hamburglar at that point.

[@petterderter6354]

Dont say the Lords name in vain

[@isaacbrown4506]

@petterderter6354 get bent helmet, it may be your lord but he ain't mine

[@christopherjohnson5247]

Highly recommend you look into the history of lifetime supply prizes of various food items! I don't think I've ever come across one that was actually unlimited.

[@chrislodico]

Not only is McDonald’s getting more expensive but I swear over the past few years the burgers seem smaller than they used to be too.

[@Clow0]

Shrinkflation, companies will shrink their products during times of high inflation to keep costs similar, almost every food brand does it.

[@alihorda]

Well it can be a good thing. So you can't eat it frequently even if you wanted, leading to less bad eating habits and making eating fast food more rewarding in the sense that if you can eat something rarely you will appreciate it more. I eat at McDonald's like once a year when I fly to home.

[@marcd2743]

@@alihorda We all don't live in forced Dubai labor camps.

[@alihorda]

@@marcd2743?

[@paradiseracer2437]

@@Clow0 although companies have recently been not going back to old sizes or lowering prices. I'm actually not against shrinking food and drink sizes in America, because they are ridiculously massive. But the prices need to reflect that too

[@HeyyBrey]

It cost my family of 4 (2 kids meals, 2 Entrees and a smoothy) $50 at McDonalds the other day. We went to a dine in Mexican restaurant the other day and spent $35. Including the tip. Yeah, we aren’t going to McDonald’s anymore.

[@electrictroy2010]

Should have used the app. Could have got the Happy meals half price & the burgers half price. Total would have been $25 instead of 50

[@electrictroy2010]

*correction: $30 with the smoothie. You’d then have 3000 app points, and be able to get 2 free cheeseburgers or McChickens or 2 free ice cream cones .

[@johnsullivan186]

As if a Mexican Restaurant is any healthier than McDonald's.

[@HondaRidea]

@@johnsullivan186 its much higher quality food thats actually cooked in a kitchen, fastfood restaurants don’t actually cook food its all precooked and heated up

[@HeyyBrey]

@@johnsullivan186 did I say a Mexican restaurant is healthier? I said it was cheaper.

[@denalozecon9074]

Here is the weirdest Retirement Bucket List I have heard of. A retired couple probably got a nice motor home for this traveling. So what they were attempting to do was visit each McDonald's at least one time, but do normal tourist stuff at each location they visit also. It was years ago I heard of this and I forgot how many thousands of McDonald's they had visited. Realistically no matter how much money they had, just because of lifespan they would be unable to complete this...still they were trying so that is unusual.

[@thunderfyrekinggaming2243]

No you could do this lifespan dosent matter

[@Showtunediva]

I don’t think I’d EVER consider getting this MCGold Card. I stopped eating at MCDonalds after the SuperSize Me documentary came out & I have not missed going there since!

[@thefusionbroscj4498]

I work at a McDonald’s and where I live a simple Michicken is $2.19. I remember when these were a dollar. It’s a shame how expensive things are getting.

[@Ammut6]

I remember a 2 liter of soda used to be $0.50. Now they're almost $3!

[@haruyanto8085]

Inflation, also they were actually a bit more or less expensive back then sincd inflation rates

[@NeverComplyEver]

No more mean tweets though right? So glad eggs cost over $5 now so we could have dementia Joe instead..... 🤡

[@electrictroy2010]

McChickens were $1 just 1.5 years ago. Now $2.50 where I live. That’s 250% in a very short time.

[@xPayBakx]

Inflation

[@galladegamerletsplays]

one thing I noticed is that in BIG TEXT on the front of McDonalds bags, it says "YOU COULD WIN FREE MCDONALDS FOR LIFE" then they add the asterisk on the end and on the side of the bag in tiny text it shows that the asterisk means "based on 2 meals a week for 50 years" which is definitely deceitful marketing at its finest edit: good to know he mentions the 2 meals a week thing

[@juancamilorodriguez937]

2 meals a week for 50 years is still a good deal.

[@artemis754]

@@juancamilorodriguez937 I mean you're right, you probably shouldn't eat McDonald's every single day. you would lack alot of nutrition you get from other foods, so it surely wouldn't be healthy, but it is still false advertising. as it is not for a lifetime (only 50 years) and it is not unlimited (2 meals a week, as of now but inflation might change that)

[@mattdarrock666]

And yet we still fall for the ''Starting at'' signs in stores...

[@artemis754]

@@mattdarrock666 lmao yea

[@invaderzim1265]

I knew it's too good to be true!!!! I KNEW IT!!!!!😡😡

[@m18hellcat13]

Late to the party, but the magnifying glass over the gold card at 2:08 is part of the script for the bee movie. Nice touch, lol.

[@xKumei]

The theory channel actually should do an episode tackling Maslow's Hierarchy of needs - and how they are disputed. Like just imagine a mom calling their kid down to dinner and them procrastinating because they are playing games, especially with friends. This example is benign, but the idea that the "higher needs" should be ignored until the basic ones are met has real world consequences for things like disaster relief.

[@spankynater4242]

That's not what this channel is about. But to address your benign example, according to the hierarchy, that scenario you spelled out will only occur when the needs beneath it are already fulfilled. It's not about "I'm hungry so let me take care of that basic need now." It's more like "I have a house and food so I'm stable, and I know that there is food in my kitchen, so even though I'm hungry, that doesn't mean my lower level needs are unmet, so I'll eat when I finish this level."

[@brelonwy]

Food theory for Valentine's Day: What's the best bang for your buck in chocolate? Are those variety pack heart boxes worth it or should people buy a bag of regular chocolates and put them in a decorative box? Which brands offer the better chocolate for the best price? Or should I just get ice cream?

[@Knightway1]

You'd probably be interested in his vid on Halloween candy

[@blueboss2o1]

(As a joke,) I don't think that would fit on one thumbnail.

[@sarahloomis2034]

Or explore the environmental and labor impact of cacao agriculture. Go the extra mile and get your sweetheart fair trade, single source, rainforest alliance chocolate. You can actually taste a difference between the locations where chocolate is grown. I recently tried one from Columbia that was super rich and fudgy 😋

[@Axron9999]

here before this gets noticed

[@danielleadams4595]

A fair few stores tell you the weight per 100g for chocolate so it's pretty easy to tell that way, but generally the bigger the chocolate the cheaper per gram.

[@geofff.3343]

I just realized I kind of live for when Matt kind of breaks character. His "The world is so broken line" was way more genuine than the snark leveled at the rich fast-food club members.

[@jokoijookp4343]

Yeah

[@sinott1]

Yeah, imagine reducing 5g of a burguer. In a company that procudes billions in burguer a month, imagine how much they save

[@pedrosso0]

timestamp

[@heroofwild2853]

@@pedrosso03:17

[@raybryan16]

The ice cream machine is never broken,They just don’t want to clean it

[@Usg1]

you are extremely entertaining. can't believe I've just sat here for 2 hours watching your videos

[@mockball3011]

We need a part 2 of this video, but factoring in the McDonald's app. While using the coupons and the rewards you should get more than double the calories.

[@SurotaOnishi]

I'm decently sure they wouldn't let you do that

[@AlkalineSphere]

@Not gonna lieThis is not a full clip, neither did MatPat comment on it. This is fishing for views. Don't watch the video.

[@obinrich5271]

@Not gonna lie this isnt the full video this dude is literally just trying to get views dont watch his trash

[@solideogloria7573]

Gift cards can't be used through the app, at least not where I'm from

[@hicknopunk]

The app can be used every 15 minutes to get almost free food.

[@Lauren.E.O]

An older relative of mine had a card that let him have free coffee from McDonald’s for life. I have no idea how he got it, BUT it worked and he used it for decades.

[@colonizingpuertoricoisunde2971]

They pay workers starvation wages

[@NathanHedglin]

@@colonizingpuertoricoisunde2971 the sky is blue.

[@KougajiCalling]

My grandparents had mugs that they could take to McDonald's for a while that you could take to a McDonald's and get free coffee. They used them all the time. Until one of them broke and McDonald's stopped honoring the mugs.

[@Lauren.E.O]

@@KougajiCalling Did they ever mention how they got the mugs?

[@SangoProductions213]

@@colonizingpuertoricoisunde2971 You could just work... another job, and get out of the way of teenagers that want to have some pocket money. Like literally any other job. Instead of forcing McDonalds to automate even faster. The true minimum wage is 0, because your job isn't actually needed. Go learn a real skill.

[@dcbaars]

It’s a good data point to see how often somebody goes to Macdonald’s with a goldcard to measure their brand. Can you imagine having a gold card and still not go

[@Kapolio]

I used to work in a mcd'd in auckland. the be our guest cards that I saw were good for 1 free pre determined item, like a big mac or a quarter pounder. most of them were sent out when someone called head office over a mistake with their order

[@littlemaridee]

I won a "year's supply" to B-Dubs once. It was a book of dated coupons for one order of wings, each week for one year, ONLY valid at that location. By July, I was sick of wings (I don't really eat wings) and I was just giving them out to friends. I'm sure McDonald's is banking on people from sick of it. I'd probably buy meals to give to panhandlers.

[@Egerit100]

Considering how often I go to McDonald's, I would probably not get tired of it and instead just pay for everyone's meal. Plus, considering you can get ANYTHING on the menu rather than just 1 specific item, it would probably take a lot longer to get tired of McDonalds

[@ianluk6385]

Yeah, I would just get the items and sell them to others

[@gibbous_silver]

B-Dubs?

[@ginniegill1026]

B........ B-dubs?

[@stevenroshni1228]

You can always give the food away

[@DougieBoy]

What a world we live in where the richest people get the most for free (free food, free services, free products, free cars, free trips), where the people that need those things the most gets slapped across the face. Our society is so broken.

[@__recon3047]

Well McDonald’s does it for a reason lol and that reason being that they will probably never use the card, and it probably gives them a bit more influence.

[@__recon3047]

I’m 90% sure most of the influential people that got this card almost never used it.

[@bensoncheung2801]

There we go.

[@hi-ougidemonfang]

Yeah that’s the point unfortunately. The gift is meaningless. It’s the press they want. They aren’t giving the rich gifts. They’re using them for clout. Still if they gave it to people who is poorer they’d still get some level of press. Though I guess they must perceive it as the lesser of 2 options.

[@tazman5129]

It's expensive being poor.

[@lingth]

its the same, when products say "Lifetime warranty" they dun really mean lifetime as in YOUR life..

[@kanejanz4173]

The ice cream machine is never broken, it just needs to be cleaned from time to time and it’s programmed to not work untill the proper cleaning cycle has been completed

[@alyseandhannahmusic1480]

Also quick thank you to Head Editor Dan for the sponsorship and end card reading! ❤️ Get better Matt

[@alyseandhannahmusic1480]

@@Thisissoawesome lol

[@bensoncheung2801]

69 👍

[@CozyChomps1234ROBLOX]

@@alyseandhannahmusic1480 girl

[@alyseandhannahmusic1480]

@@CozyChomps1234ROBLOX Did I do something?

[@missilluminati3389]

Now I want to write a fanfiction about McDonalds sending assassins on someone who won a Golden Card (that's really for life) because they are pissed that the guy just won't die

[@crimsonsinner1454]

do you read on ao3?

[@agent_8167]

Please do and leave the link here!!! XD

[@mrrawcursededitor]

But if they’re really that old, will they still be eating McDonald’s?

[@gypsybelle4757]

Matt, always with the best theory hacks!

[@AKI111]

Eating your Christmas tree? (4:30) That's too much dude... You got me droolin and poolin... :)...o

[@jujuawesomebeans7348]

I work at McDonald's and we always have specials. Which, honestly is just bundled varieties of everything on the menu. $3, $8, 2 for $6 and you get a ton of food. We also have dinner packs that are about $18. You could a family of four with them, which brings you under budget for your $20 limit per week on the Gold Card. You really don't want to eat this stuff every day though. It's so unhealthy. I get a free meal every shift and I don't even use it.

[@Jason75913]

I love McD's, but I wish it wasn't poisonous. So I make McD's a very rare treat.

[@redeyestones3738]

You're selling poison Straight up.

[@Tosh.O]

most average people can eat the "dinner for 4" meal by themselves in 1 sitting. because its not filling

[@jujuawesomebeans7348]

@@redeyestones3738 Anything that is not in moderation is bad for you.

[@redeyestones3738]

@@jujuawesomebeans7348 that is also true. But any amount, or frequency of eating McDonald's is not just bad for your body. It's also a vote for what we want in the future. It may already be passed the tipping point. But there's 38,000 McDonald's restaurant locations in 1,000 countries, selling hundreds of burgers a day. Even with the fact that their burgers are less than 50% meat, that still requires A LOT OF LAND to have that many cows. It will eventually snuff itself out, after swallowing up unmeasurable resources that could've been used to do something that actually benefits mankind, instead of slowly corroding it away with garbage filler food, for people who are too lazy to cook their own food. It's absolutely criminal

[@dwanpol-lovesdonuts]

"Take the alternate prize" has almost always been the solution to prize-for-life schemes. Having the money to invest nearly always works out better than the main prize in the long run.

[@Wendy_O.]

I remember a promo years (ok, decades) ago when they were selling hamburgers for 39cents on certain days. I'd buy 10 of them and share with my mom. I also remember an era when McDonald's (and other fast-food places) fried everything in beef tallow 😋 People my age complain that it's just not as good as it used to be. 😆 And in every restaurant, there was a tin ashtray on each table.

[@Luna_Dove]

Love how he included the bee movie script in the mcgold card; absolutely amazing

[@whyareyouherepleasegoaway]

Didn't notice it

[@YIPPEEniko]

half of your replies are bots

[@Luna_Dove]

@@YIPPEEniko that sucks

[@TimeBucks]

Thanks for being so great

[@sajidsheikh6585]

👍👍

[@brynlive3782]

?

[@parwatifakar]

Nice

[@bijoyislam3038]

THUMBS UP

[@MohitKumar-kc3oq]

Good job

[@JackieRoxs]

With the card, I'm curious if the royalty app also applies per transaction, with all those points you'd be able to probably add an extra year or two

[@kevinwolthuis861]

The McDonald's on Benson road and hospital hill in Renton Washington pretty much has their mcflurry machine working all the time, I usually go almost an hour to a half hour before they close, quite frequently lately, and only been told it was already being cleaned once, so if you're in the area, you'll probably get it,

[@AngelGuzman0925]

I knew about most of stuff pertaining to the card. What I didn’t know was that $50,000 check. Like bruh… what?! I’ll definitely take that instead 😂

[@TheMissSerena]

If it was 250k vs a 250k mc Donald’s card (that doesn’t expire) I’d take the card because free coffee and Icecream

[@AngelGuzman0925]

@@TheMissSerena with 250k, I could buy my own type of coffee and own type of ice cream 😅

[@triPocoPi9576]

3:42 That’s some pretty good singing MatPat

[@ShiroThyBunny]

It's like having a sibling who gets you something when they work!

[@hobbyistanonymous1293]

I work 2 blocks from a McDonald’s. I don’t get a lunch hour so I always have to grab something quick so I’ve eaten them everyday for years. I recently quit due to cost. Utilizing their deals and rewards I was able to easily get a full meal around $5. The exact same meal last time I was there was $14. It was a large fry, large coke, and 2 mchickens came out to just over $6 after taxes and the last one was over $14. This was just a few months ago too.

[@maxsakoona6823]

Food theory idea, how consistent is candy packing? Is there a set number for different packagings? Is there a number of each flavor in variety packs?

[@g1gachad]

@do not fatherless

[@jgsgamergfdgfdgfd1137]

Bot party

[@maxsakoona6823]

@@jgsgamergfdgfdgfd1137 Whoo!

[@jgsgamergfdgfdgfd1137]

@@maxsakoona6823 your reply got hidden by the idiotic moderators of yt

[@saturationstation1446]

thats easily found info lol. just watch a how its made video

[@analogicparadox]

I expect "McDonald's for life" to bring to early death regardless of their intentions tbh

[@paradiseracer2437]

McDonald's adding on that extra 22k to offset tax is actually really cool of them. A lot of prizes don't do that

[@shhhvr3183]

Me and my friend went to mcdonalds today, 18$ for two large fries and a 6pc nugget.....

[@user-bc7cb8uu7e]

Probably also worth mentioning that if you took $50,000 and invested it for a 5% return, instead of growing it to the numbers in the video, you could withdraw $2500 per year forever (real number may be lower in actuality, since there are years you'd lose money on your investments). This is more than the McGold card offers and can be spent anywhere

[@stevenroshni1228]

My thoughts exactly

[@Ammut6]

It'd pay for my utilities for the whole year thats for sure!

[@nahdeshiko]

My husband's reaction to Dan taking over: "I like this Matt's voice. He should do all the script readings moving forward" 🤣

[@resoldbaby7687]

I like how you husband considers Dan and alternate Matt adding to the list of Matts- MatPat Mattius Pathius Pathius Mattius Nega Mat Mirror Mat AshMat and now *_MatDan_*

[@meggubravo8373]

@@resoldbaby7687 *DanPat

[@CheshireFiles]

How did I miss this (as in the contest and this video)? Oh well. LOL.

[@frankbrislin4378]

The Food Theorists , 13:45 Now THAT was a 4-D chess move; setting the stage to make us expect Head Editor Dan to do something crazy. I'll bet that was an effective way to trick us viewers into actually listening to the sponsor; and give us trust issues. We'll done. 👏👏👏

[@eggnakiosanchez7023]

I can't believe their giving mcgold card to celebrity's who can probably afford it without the card💀

[@GamepadStudios]

💀💀💀

[@jb888888888]

It's to get publicity from Bezos etc. being seen in a McDonalds. I'm sure they don't go there very often, unless they're stuck in an airport waiting for their private planes to be refueled or something.

[@SangoProductions213]

And who probably don't even use the amount provided. It's because it's not charity. It's invaluable marketing to have [insert celebrity here] visiting your store. Why do you think Nike pays millions to "athletes," while using slave labor to manufacture their shoes?

[@notorioustori]

You'll be surprised how much free swag celebs & other rich people who can afford it all get. Especially since just seeing a certain celeb hold your product can inflate your profits exponentially. It's pretty ridiculous.

[@stevenpagnani7005]

Their monopoly game they used to have was also a scam. The person who thought of it gave all the winning pieces to their family and friends.

[@electrictroy2010]

And now he’s in prison

[@electrictroy2010]

HE READ RULES WRONG. The gold card is a gift card with $1040 added each year. Winner can spend that giftcard in just a few days. There’s no restriction to only 2 meals a week .

[@user-pf7fs2sr4z]

Did anyone else notice in 2:09 the "fine print" is the script of "The Bee Movie"

[@lagartopunkarra]

McDonald's: Want our food for free for your lifetime? Me: eww no

[@Splash298]

2:16 more sussy than saucy 😂

[@BergmitetheBlueandPointy0712]

I start to think that the more McDonald related theories are made, more people will start to absolutely hate and distrust them, and avoid them completely. 🤔 Quite a wacky yet interesting way to take down McDonald I would say. 🤔

[@JontheRoc]

If that's how you feel, then look up how McDonald's Monopoly sweepstakes unknowingly funded an actual mafia. Pretty crazy stuff

[@BostYT]

Gd it's only bots under your comment bruv

[@BergmitetheBlueandPointy0712]

@@JontheRoc I heard that it’s all a scam, and that there is no prices.

[@jordynisboredyn]

It’ll barely make a dent to McDonald’s 😭

[@BostYT]

@@jordynisboredyn ik lmao and they gotta put the thinking emoji cuz they're wrong iykwim

[@VonTried]

Also you gotta love the Buy one get one deals at McDonalds. I work there and we can get 2 free meals a day if we're working with a $10 limit. And let me tell you, you can get double the food because of the Bogo deal. And the bogo deal is on the McChicken, McDouble, 4pc nuggets, and small fry. We recently had a bigmac, Quarter Pounder, and 10pc Nugget bogo deal. But it's gone now which is kinda sad

[@oranphillips6940]

People: you want my money? McDonalds: no People: then what do you want McDonalds: your life

[@whixz5814]

Dan should always do sponsors, He reminds me of Professional announcers

[@ethanhudson9226]

Those first two items (Big Breakfast with Hotcakes and McChicken) are the main two things I get at McDonalds surprisingly enough.

[@mzzodiacc]

💫ReLaTiviTy!!💫💛💛💖😅

[@dusicagrujic4757]

The intro is AMAZING

[@generallyunimportant]

can't believe the backprint of the mcdonalds mcgold card is THE BEE MOVIE SCRIPT i love editors on the theorists team.

[@aSipOfHemlocktea]

Honestly if I had won a mcgold card I would have went to McDonald's once a year and bought as much as I could at one time off of the cheaper stuff and brought it to the local homeless shelter after first dropping food off at the nearby camps. I've been homeless around here and I know how hard it is to get food cuz there aren't a lot of fancy programs or anything. I wouldn't be able to do much but I know how much better a day can be made by just getting one hamburger.

[@SangoProductions213]

What I like to do on pay day is to go to the dollar stores, and give the clerks 20 dollars, asking them to give 5 dollars off to the next 4 check outs. (Might be because I live in a small town, but) They almost always do it, and the people who struggle such that they actually go to dollar stores, get the benefit. It's really not a lot of money, and since you're not wasting money through a charity, your small contribution actually does help several people.

[@Jason75913]

Fast food restaurants aren't a good deal in food for charity, grocery stores are the way to go.

[@MattMcConaha]

@@Jason75913 but he doesn't have a free groceries card, he has a free McDonald's card

[@jjbrown8174]

Ur profile had me for a sec lol I saw 69d ago and I’m like how??

[@Jason75913]

@@MattMcConaha and Matpat showed that the free food card can be converted to money; he suggested investing but Hemlocktea wants to spend it on food, so groceries are the way to go for best bang for the buck, also healthier

[@Mcz20]

Always love the content! Also, nice use of the Bee movie lines in the gold card.

[@BestArtist]

The price of McDonald's has gone up so much and the quality has gone down, so I realized recently for the price of a value meal which is like $15 nowadays, I can actually just buy a much better, more filling burger at a real restaurant. And most restaurants include a side of fries with the burger anyway.

[@bradengilbert8538]

A meal is considered a 15 minutes time period after your meal. This is per their deals found on the app that are good 1 deal per meal. Then has a 15 minute timer.

[@Longztur]

Matpat still on a speedrun to remove any possibility of having any sponsorship with fast food restaurants, I see

[@Letrictox13]

if anyone deserves that card, it’s Don Gorske. he is the gentleman who has consumed over 32,000 big Macs in the course of his life 🍔. McDonald’s, do the right thing and give him one! if anybody doesn’t know who he is, he’s all over KZbin. Such a humble guy!

[@Thisissoawesome]

*LETS BE HONEST WE ALL REMEMBER THIS RECORD:* kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqqZkJWrhKaCadk

[@MrGaarasbabygurl]

The fine print is the Bee Movie script. Nice :D

[@ThaT_1persON777]

People from 2087 be like- wait McDonald’s used to be this cheap

[@RyDotExe]

I'm not gonna lie, I've been struggling this year and saw this Gold card which was the highlight of my month, and when I saw the terms and saw that $50k check, I made sure to get a free entry everyday lmao

[@electrictroy2010]

HE READ RULES WRONG. The gold card is a gift card with $1040 added each year. Winner can spend that giftcard in just a few days. There’s no restriction to only 2 meals a week .

[@chummycharmander962]

@@electrictroy2010 Isn't the card only for McDonalds? That's why he made the invisible line so he had a model to build off of... Did you even watch the video?

[@am3li1605]

I can watch genuinely the most random thing matpat makes and I'll still be entertained

[@OriginalContent89]

Same. Lol I don't even like McDonalds but here I am

[@electrictroy2010]

HE READ THE RULES WRONG. The gold card is a gift card with $1040 added each year. Winner can spend that giftcard in just a few days. There’s no restriction to only 2 meals a week .

[@susangarcia1134]

you know for the last corner for a new channel on your logo you could make it like unsolved murders or something like that

[@Chawster]

11:40 That's the Mcdonald on Highway 7 by Markville Mall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. In the same parking lot as the Foody Chinese Supermarket.

[@AegisZero]

Once Jollibee makes it in Food Theory, I can truly say that they finally made it

[@Ammut6]

They already have

[@AegisZero]

@@Ammut6 link?

[@NobleLaika]

.

[@Trebeach]

🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭!!!

[@drfuzzy3977]

can i just get a location near me there likely only in the times square like locations of major cities

[@glockenspiel3806]

Every theorists channel is amazing

[@CelestialSorceress]

My guess to the show that mat pat said they were going to pitch is of a more of a internet theory document series and/or imamated. Some of the ideas i thought it might were videos were you discussed parts of internet lore

[@johnny_the_halfender]

Love how the "fine print" on the card is part of the Bee Movie script

[@ereidy536]

It’s interesting because this competition in the UK was one free meal a week for one year only!

[@deadlymelody27]

Yeah i came to say this! I wonder why it was once in the uk but twice a week in america

[@wentoneisendon6502]

@@deadlymelody27 would be seen as encouraging an unhealthy lifestyle

[@jettyun9785]

I used the mc Donald’s app almost everyday because it’s next to my house. I use the deal “Buy 20 piece chicken nuggets with a choice of 2 medium or small fires for free” and then get a large coke and it comes up to $6.71 I think. I also see I get “free large French fries” basically everyday also from the app reminders. Plus free nuggets whenever the Blazers win. Even If I got l the free fries everyday I would still gain points. The points let you actually get good stuff for free. (Big macs, quarter pounders, large frapes, ect.) So I think you could honestly eat there once a day for free, even if it just a large fri.

[@pumpkinjack7265]

Thats cool i need to get the app

[@karen-vw1jq]

I was waiting for Mat to mention the McDonald's App giving good deals and was shocked he didn't mention it. 😳🤔

[@KilowattAvenue]

0:51 I thought that was a real ad 😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣

[@alanbateup]

couldn't you also sell the card? or does McDonalds not allow that?

[@Grimwolfmachia]

They think that we’re eating their food because it tastes so good, we ate it because it was fast and cheap, they make a profit either way, they need to stop raising the prices or it’ll eventually ruin their business

[@Tony_AM009]

Over the past few weeks, I had an idea for a Food Theory video that I wanted to share. I was gonna wait for the next video to drop to post it in the comment section, but I forgot what it was gonna be. Until I can recall what it was, here's two video ideas that I hope you'll consider in the future: 1) This one would be in regards to the pickle-craving character in the video game Choo Choo Charles and how healthy a diet of only pickles or at least predominantly pickles would be for a single person. 2) Is it a good idea for Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo franchise to be eating Scooby Snacks, a type of dog food? You could even make a separate video on the recipe for making a Scooby Snack beforehand(unless that information is already available for the public to look at). PS: I heard MatPat isn't feeling well. I hope that he has an efficient recovery. Take care!

[@mitsukiification]

There was a giveaway for the card when you used the McDonalds app (not sure if they're still doing it). I spent all my rewards points to enter for a chance to win and now I regret it after watching this. I should've just gotten the free fries.

[@jcwflyman]

Matt can you touch on the discussion of these fast food apps and how they potentially even higher and it’s just better to go thru the drive through

[@chettos8839]

I'm surprised my heart hasn't just stopped

[@hoodie1355]

Yes! Ever since matpat’s video about sweepstakes I always read the fine print and was super excited because I read option B when the contest started, so happy to know someone else caught on to this when everyone else was only talking about option A

[@harley_kay_]

Inflation is a really wild thing for me to think about at 19. I worked at subway for a while and I'd always have to hold back a laugh when people asked me if we still do "$5 footlongs". My response was usually "no, but we do have a $6 six inch".

[@mann_idonotreadreplies]

cool sotry bro/sis

[@Alex-Defatte]

I haven't been to Subway in forever. I did not know that they stop selling the five dollar foot longs. The song is still stuck in my head. Bummer.

[@lynwood5991]

@@Alex-Defatte According to Subway's online menu in the USA it's $8.49 for your average footlong.

[@nyanya2757]

This is true but... at some point Mcdonalds will have to either stop putting to prices up or put prices down or get better quality because ain't nobody gunna be paying 56 bucks for a little sandwich plus fries and a drink when that could buy an expensive dinner at some other place with change to spare for that much.

[@AwfullWaffle]

Couldn’t help but notice the the “fine print” graphic was actually the lyrics to Barry Bee.