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Video reveals the 'sneaky' ways fast food restaurants trick you into spending more money

It all starts with the menu.

via Yum9me/Flickr

What does a Big Mac combo cost these days?

Even though inflation levels have slowed in the U.S. over the past few months, fast food is one industry where prices keep going up. It seems like there’s nowhere to turn when the places where we used to go to for a deal keep getting pricier and pricier.

According to CBS News, prices at “limited service” restaurants were up 6.2% last year, with America’s most popular fast-food joint, McDonald's, up 10%.

"Our average pricing level in the U.S. business for the full year will be just over 10%," Ian Borden, the company's CFO, stated in an October 2023 earnings call.

If you're still hoping to find a deal on fast food, Business Insider created a video that shows all the “sneaky” tricks fast-food chains use to get you to spend more than you intended.

Sneaky Ways Fast Food Restaurants Get You To Spend Money

One way they get you to spend more money is by having menus that are a "noisy mess of options and categories” that only highlight a portion of what's available. Looking for the value menu? That will be pushed to the corner of the menu so your focus stays on the pricier items on its left side.

You'll also notice that the photos of the items are large, but the price next to them is comparatively small.

"Food pictures, they light up the brain. Particularly when you're hungry. Large food pictures, for a food company, are key," Hans Taparia, a professor of business and society at NYU, told Business Insider.

The video also reveals that if you do the math, value meals really aren't a significant savings.

"If you buy multiple items on the value menu, it won't necessarily be cheaper than a Happy Meal," Taparia adds. In the example provided in the video, a McDonald’s Double-Quarter Pounder value meal is only 9 cents cheaper than if you purchased the items separately.

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inflation

Culture

Racist women told Burger King manager to 'go back to Mexico.' He gave them a lesson in civics instead.

— (@)

Social media may be "ruining society" according to a lot of people's grandparents. But it's also a pretty helpful tool for spotting racists and publicly shaming them. Incidentally, a lot of those racists are also people's grandparents... kinda makes you think, hmmm?

Recently, two elderly white ladies were spotted in a Burger King in Central Florida being racist towards a man who they overheard speaking Spanish. That man turned out to be the manager.

Some nearby customers were filming the incident and posted the video online where it's gone viral. "Go back to Mexico," says one of the women. "If you want to keep speaking Spanish, go back to your Mexican country." She then continues: "this is America. Our main language is English. ... Speak your Mexican at home."

Megan Rapinoe says the best way to support equal pay is by putting your money where your mouth is.

It's too bad racism is such a toxic and dangerous force destroying so many people's lives, because otherwise its sheer stupidity would be straight-up hilarious. You can't help but laugh at the ignorance of the old women in this video, especially since justice is served.

The manager, who is Puerto Rican not Mexican, calls the women "ignorant" and demands they leave the restaurant.

"Freedom of speech, ma'am," he says. "Guess what, ma'am, I'm not Mexican. You're being very prejudiced and I want you out of my restaurant right now."

One of the women says she wants to finish her meal first but the manager threatens to call the police and report them as trespassers, so they finally leave. "Just have a nice day and don't come back," he says.

Would you stay in a relationship with someone after learning they had a toxic political belief?

Unfortunately this isn't the first time a white person has aired their racist views in a public place, berating strangers for how they look, dress or speak. And it sadly probably won't be the last. But at least these hateful grannies won't be enjoying a Whopper at this particular Burger King anytime soon. And if they refuse to eat anywhere that employs people who speak multiple languages, they're going to starve. And that, my friends, is Darwinism at work.

This article originally appeared on SomeeCards. You can read it here.

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These women really, really weren't having it.

A man and woman walk into a Burger King. They order the same exact thing but pay two very different prices.

That's the premise of Burger King's new "Chick Tax" video. The hidden-camera video shows women's reactions when they're told that it'll cost them $3.09 for an order of Chicken Fries versus the $1.69 the man with them just paid.

Needless to say, many of the women in the video aren't happy about having to pay an extra $1.40 for the same product in pink packaging labeled "Chick Fries" — and rightly so. Ridiculous, right? Yeah, Burger King thought so too.

[rebelmouse-image 19497297 dam="1" original_size="500x281" caption="GIF via Burger King/YouTube." expand=1]GIF via Burger King/YouTube.

"Chick Fries" aren't a thing, but there are a bunch of situations just like that everywhere you go. People call it the "pink tax."

The next time you're at the pharmacy, compare the cost of men's and women's razors. Maybe there's a slight difference? OK, now go into a store and check out the cost of a boy's T-shirt compared with a girl's — same material, same brand, and so on. The one aimed at girls might be a little more expensive. The same goes for any number of items.

In 2015, New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs compared 800 different products and their costs. What they found was that when comparing two obviously gendered versions of products (for example, a pink and blue disposable razor), women paid an average of 7% more than men. They looked at everything from toys to clothing to toiletries to senior home health care products. The "pink tax" was real, and it spanned the marketplace.

A view of the gift bag during the Ax the Pink Tax Panel in April 2018 in New York. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Refinery29.

People have been trying to bring attention to the pink tax for years. For example, in 2017, Cards Against Humanity released "Cards Against Humanity for Her," describing it as "exactly the same as the original Cards Against Humanity game, but the box is pink and it costs $5 more."

🎀👋Say hi to Cards Against Humanity for Her. It's exactly the same as the original game, but it's pink & costs more: https://t.co/OfkED24811
— Cards Against Humanity (@Cards Against Humanity) 1499790150

Both Cards Against Humanity (who donated the extra cash made from people who actually bought the pink version of the game) and Burger King are just trying to make a point about how ridiculous it is for brands to present products as "for her" when the only difference is a change in color and maybe a cute and catchy slogan about empowerment or whatever. But this is actually what companies do. Why do we put up with it?

In some cases, like razors, there's really no reason women shouldn't feel comfortable stocking up on the men's version of things when they're cheaper. In others, like clothes, that may need to be tailored differently based on body shape, it's a little harder.

Some members of Congress are trying to pass a pink tax repeal.

In April, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) and 27 of her colleagues introduced the Pink Tax Repeal Act, a bill that would prevent stores from pricing services or products from the same manufacturer differently based solely on the gender of the people being marketed to. While Speier was able to pick up three additional co-sponsors, the bill has more or less languished in committee since its introduction.

That's where you come in. Burger King's ad ends by asking viewers to call their members of Congress to urge action on the Pink Tax Repeal Act. Getting this bill through Congress and signed into law is an extreme long shot. Even so, this is an issue worth supporting. Charging people different prices based on their gender isn't OK when it's an order of Chicken Fries, and it's not OK when it's anything else either. Call your members of Congress today.

Watch Burger King's "Chick Fries" ad:

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Racist women told Burger King manager to 'go back to Mexico.' He gave them a lesson in civics instead. - Upworthy ›

Cody, a 10-year-old boxer-Labrador mix, loves cheeseburgers. And since his cancer diagnosis, his humans have been happy to indulge that craving.

Two months back, Cody got the bad news, with his vet giving him between just one and three months to live. His owner, Alec Karcher, shared his dog's story on Twitter, explaining how they were trying to make Cody's final days as happy as possible.

"My family and I were heartbroken by the news, but we decided we wanted to try and make the last part of his life the best we could," Karcher wrote. "Every day since we found out, we've gotten him a plain cheeseburger to eat with his many medications to make it easier and more enjoyable for him."

— (@)

On July 15, as Karcher stopped at his local Burger King in Toledo, Ohio, an employee asked about the family's newfound love of plain cheeseburgers. Karcher responded by telling the employee Cody's story.

"She immediately asked us to wait a second after she gave us our food," he wrote. "A few minutes later, she returned after talking to her manager. She asked us for a name and said that the rest of the cheeseburgers for Cody would be free at their location."

This might seem like something small, but to Karcher and his family, the gesture meant the world.

"I can't explain how much that means to us, and my family and I are beyond appreciative," he wrote.

The official Burger King account got in on the action, replying to Karcher's original post, offering well wishes and a thanks for allowing that location to have an effect on their lives.

— (@)

Burger King is right. The world does need more kindness and empathy. Small acts can add up in unexpected ways.

Maybe a small act of kindness is offering comfort to a heartbroken family or keeping a terminally ill dog's belly filled with his favorite food. It could also take any number of other forms, each as helpful as the one before it. The point here is that we all have the chance to make the world a better — or a worse — place for those around us. It's up to us how we choose to use our influence.

Cody is a good boy. Photo via Alec Karcher, used with permission.

May each burger be as delicious as the one before it, Cody. You are, of course, a very, very good dog.

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Stephen Curry is arguably the best basketball player in the world today, but can he also predict the future?

If you're a sports fan, you probably know who Stephen Curry is by now.

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He plays for the NBA's Golden State Warriors and was voted the league's Most Valuable Player for the 2014-2015 season.

Wait, the name still doesn't ring a bell?

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He's also the dad to an adorable daughter named Riley, who stole the show during his recent NBA press conferences.

He loves his kid and he wants her to experience this unique journey with him. That's a great way to embrace fatherhood.

Speaking of fatherhood, Stephen's dad, Dell Curry, was a really good NBA player in his own right. And just like most young kids, Stephen idolized his dad and wanted to be a basketball player just like him.

Thanks to a recently resurfaced Burger King commercial from the 1990s, we can see the bond between Stephen Curry and his father firsthand.

"You really gotta want it," Dell said.

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Apparently Stephen really wanted it, because now the young man is currently enjoying the life of NBA royalty. With his MVP award and a championship under his belt, he's likely exceeding even his dad's expectations.

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Being a good dad runs in the Curry family.

As the saying goes, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Or better yet, the basketball doesn't fall far from the hoop.

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Other than being great professional basketball players, these two men are amazing dads as well. Dell and his wife raised Stephen to be a great man on and off the court, and Stephen really enjoys being a dad to his two daughters.

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But fans of happy families want more. Next up, let's see a sequel to the commercial featuring Stephen and Riley.

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Get on that, Burger King.

burger king

Video reveals the 'sneaky' ways fast food restaurants trick you into spending more money

It all starts with the menu.

Sneaky Ways Fast Food Restaurants Get You To Spend Money

Racist women told Burger King manager to 'go back to Mexico.' He gave them a lesson in civics instead.

Megan Rapinoe says the best way to support equal pay is by putting your money where your mouth is.

Would you stay in a relationship with someone after learning they had a toxic political belief?

If you don't know what the 'pink tax' is, this Burger King ad is a great place to start.

These women really, really weren't having it.

A man and woman walk into a Burger King. They order the same exact thing but pay two very different prices.

"Chick Fries" aren't a thing, but there are a bunch of situations just like that everywhere you go. People call it the "pink tax."

Some members of Congress are trying to pass a pink tax repeal.

Watch Burger King's "Chick Fries" ad:

A terminally ill dog's love of cheeseburgers is the uplifting story we all need right now.

Cody, a 10-year-old boxer-Labrador mix, loves cheeseburgers. And since his cancer diagnosis, his humans have been happy to indulge that craving.

This might seem like something small, but to Karcher and his family, the gesture meant the world.

Burger King is right. The world does need more kindness and empathy. Small acts can add up in unexpected ways.

You have to see this touching moment between a future basketball star and his dad.

Stephen Curry is arguably the best basketball player in the world today, but can he also predict the future?

Thanks to a recently resurfaced Burger King commercial from the 1990s, we can see the bond between Stephen Curry and his father firsthand.

Being a good dad runs in the Curry family.

In the meantime, you gotta watch this quick video to see how the whole conversation between Dell and Stephen went down.

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