Burger King Foot Lettuce: A Tale of Toe-Tapping Trepidation at the Fast Food Frontier

Aydin J Zubair
3 min readSep 3, 2023

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In the realm of fast food follies, few stories have managed to flip the lid of laughter quite like the infamous “Burger King Foot Lettuce” scandal. It’s a tale that combines culinary curiosity with digital detective work, and a sprinkle of hilarious mishaps.

The Toe-tally Bizarre Beginnings

Our story takes root in the obscure corners of the internet on July 16th, 2012, when an anonymous 4chan user decided to spill the beans, or should we say, the lettuce. Armed with a smartphone and a flair for the dramatic, this Burger King employee snapped a photo of himself standing with his feet inside two plastic bins of lettuce. As if that weren’t appetizing enough, he captioned it with the ominous words: “This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King.”

Now, let’s be clear: this wasn’t some avant-garde attempt at a new salad bar trend; it was a prank of the highest order. But little did our lettuce-loving protagonist know that his photographic masterpiece would soon become the stuff of legend.

Internet Sleuths Unleashed

Within the digital realm of 4chan, things escalated quickly. Users, armed with a keen eye for detail, delved into the Exif data of the photo, revealing the location to be a Burger King on Mayfield Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The hunt was on!

With the precision of a Sherlock Holmes novel, the 4chan sleuths reached out to local news outlets and the Burger King in question. Cleveland Scene Magazine played the role of the investigative journalist, revealing the photo to the world on July 17th. And when the Mayfield Road Burger King manager saw the incriminating evidence, she had only one thing to say: “Oh, I know who that is. He’s getting fired.”

The Birth of a Meme

In the blink of an eye, the “Burger King Foot Lettuce” scandal became a national sensation. It was covered by major news outlets like Today, Gawker, and The Daily Dot. But the real magic happened in 2017 when a dramatic retelling of the saga went viral on YouTube. The narration by a user named Chills, with his distinct inflection, sent the internet into hysterics.

The copypastas, remixes, and parodies started rolling in like a fast-food avalanche. YouTubers couldn’t resist the temptation to create their own versions of the now-legendary story. “Number 15: Burger King Foot Lettuce” became the catchphrase that launched a thousand memes.

The Legacy of Toe-tally Odd Fast Food

Even in 2019, Chills himself embraced the hilarity of it all by creating a song called “Number 15.” It seems that the legacy of “Burger King Foot Lettuce” is here to stay, and we can’t help but chuckle at the sheer absurdity of it all.

So, the next time you sink your teeth into a juicy Burger King burger, just remember: the only toe-tapping you want is from the catchy jingle, not from a rogue employee’s foot. And as for that viral lettuce, let’s hope it’s remained toe-free ever since.

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