Chances are if you live in the United States, you’ve probably been inside a Taco Bell. Even if you’ve spent every day for the past 10 years eating chalupas and crunch wrap supremes, there are still some things about the fast food franchise that you probably didn’t know. Here, we present our list of 10 things you didn’t know about Taco Bell.
Number Ten: There Are No Taco Bells in Mexico
Despite the fact that Taco Bells sells primarily Mexican food (well, bastardized Mexican food), there are absolutely no Taco Bells in Mexico! However, that’s not for lack of trying. Taco Bell has tried twice to introduce the chain into Mexico, but it failed both times. They even failed when they marketed the food as “American.”
Number Nine: They Want $2 Bills Back
It’s true. In fact, Taco Bell once petitioned the United States government to bring back the archaic two dollar bill.
Number Eight: They Have Sold Billions of Tacos
Specifically, since the release of the Doritos Locos tacos – you know, the tacos with a Dorito-flavored crunchy taco shell – Taco Bell has sold more than one billion of them. That’s a lot of cool ranch Doritos!
Number Seven: The Doritos Locos Tacos Are Responsible for Creating 30,000 Jobs
It’s true! Thanks to the success of the Doritos Locos tacos, Taco Bell was able to add more than 30,000 jobs to the company. That’s a lot of people who have a chip to thank for their annual income.
Number Six: They Put a Target in the Ocean
Taco Bell placed a target in the ocean for the landing of the Mir space station. The space station crashed down to earth in 2001, and Taco Bell put a target there and released a statement that everyone in the United States would get free tacos if the station landed on the target! Specifically, the core of the space station had to hit the floating target in order for the offer of free tacos to be valid.
Number Five: They Were Sued by 50 Cent
It’s true! 50 Cent sued Taco Bell and amazingly won. He won $4 million in the settlement. He sued them in 2008 on the grounds that Taco Bell used his name in an advertising campaign without asking him first. The campaign requested that 50 Cent change his name to 99 Cent for a day to support Taco Bell’s “Why Pay More?” campaign which offers like crunchy tacos and bean burritos for less than a dollar.
Number Four: They Were Almost Represented by Billy Mays
Billy Mays was slated to do a commercial for Taco Bell. However, he ended up dying not long before the commercial was scheduled to be recorded. The commercials were going to be in the style of infomercials and were set to be recorded in 2009. However, Mays died in June of 2009 from heart disease.
Number Three: They Have a Taco Bell Truck
And it’s quite magical, too. The truck drives all over the United States, and that’s not even the best part. The best part about the truck is that it gives away free tacos to anyone it encounters!
Number Two: Their First Customer Was Not Satisfied
The very first customer at Taco Bell ordered a taco, but the juices from the taco ended up spilling all over the sleeve and tie of his fancy suit. However, instead of getting upset or angry, the customer finished the taco and came back for another one!
Number One: They Deal With Some Insane Orders
One person once ordered 349 beef burrito supremes, 201 chicken burrito supremes, 101 steak burrito supremes, and just one crunchy taco (for dessert, maybe?). This went down as the largest order in the history of Taco Bell. We wonder how many people that feast fed!