10 Facts You Didn't Know About Burger King's Whopper

There are a slew of fast food restaurants serving up their own idea of the perfect burger. Maybe you're a Big Mac person, or perhaps you worship at the altar of the animal-style burger. But if you're a diehard Burger King fan, then there's a good chance that the Whopper is your fast food burger of choice. That's certainly easy to understand, considering the burger's staggering size — the beef itself weighs in at ¼ of a pound — and its relatively simple list of accouterments, including a fresh tomato slice, crunchy pickles, green lettuce, and snappy, sharp white onions. Ketchup and mayo play the starring sauce roles here, with no mustard to be found.

But there's a lot even the most devoted Whopper fan doesn't know about the sandwich. For some, enjoying the burger with a side of fries and an ice-cold, crispy Coke is enough. But if you're the kind of burger lover who's interested in a bit more background regarding that beloved burger's roots, we're here to deliver the 411 on this iconic sandwich. Once you have the scoop about the Whopper's origins and lore, you may just become an even bigger fan of Burger King's most iconic menu item.

It may feel like the Whopper has been around forever, but the burger's oldest fans can tell you that it hasn't always been a fast food option. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that Burger King was just inventing its flagship sandwich. You see, the Whopper was born all the way back in 1957 when Burger King was just getting its start. Burger King had opened its doors just three years earlier when the owners decided to roll out the Whopper.

It may come as a surprise to all the McDonald's fans out there, but the Whopper was actually invented a full 10 years before the Big Mac hit the scene, despite Burger King only opening a year before the first McDonald's (which happened in 1955). So, we can't really solve the eternal question: Is the Whopper or Big Mac better? But we can tell you that the Whopper truly was the OG burger in the fast food landscape.

Imagine what it must have been like to be there to try the original Whopper. Those first taste-testers must not have known that they were tasting history in the making. But perhaps the most appealing part of the original Whoppers wasn't their flavor — which likely isn't far off from what we taste today — but the price. That's because when Burger King's Whopper first hit the market, the chain sold them for only 37 cents apiece. Just imagine the kind of value meal menu option that would be today!

But not so long ago, you could snag a Whopper for a similar deal. Back in 2012, which was the year of the 55th anniversary of the Whopper, you could get the burger for only 55 cents. Admittedly, this deal was only available for a limited time — the promotion ran from December 6 to 9 of that year. But if you managed to get your hands on a Whopper on one of those days over a decade ago, you were one of the lucky few that experienced the burger nearly as cheap as it was when it first made its debut.

If you simply drive up to the drive-thru and ask for a Whopper with no further specifications, you're going to get basically the same thing every time. Your burger will come with that signature ¼-pound patty in addition to pickles, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, and ketchup. If you ask us, this is how the burger really shines — in its intended form. But you don't have to stick to the status quo if you don't want to. In fact, there are over 200,000 different ways to order a Whopper.

Maybe you don't like the sickly sweetness of ketchup, so you decide to omit it entirely. Or perhaps the thought of biting into a half-soggy pickle in your otherwise delicious sandwich makes you want to make a detour and head to Wendy's instead. Luckily, you can order your Whopper to your exact specifications every time. Whether you like to load up on the veggies or prefer more of a meat-and-sauces order, we support your right to build your Whopper any way you see fit.

Let's be honest: If you're ordering a Whopper, chances are, you're not overly concerned with getting a ton of veggies into this particular meal. But if you were trying to think of a way to increase your vegetable intake and indulge in a hulking fast food burger at the same time, there was a point that Burger King had just what you were looking for: the Burger King Sprout Surprise Whopper. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like: a Whopper enhanced with a crispy Brussels sprouts patty.

This wasn't an offer that was available everywhere. Rather, it was a special promotion from Burger King U.K., where it was served as a limited-time offering. It seems like the kind of strange mash-up that never should have existed in the first place, so we're not exactly surprised that this menu item didn't get much international reach. But for one glorious point in time, there were a few British, Brussels sprouts-loving Burger King fans whose dream came true for the holiday season.

Sometimes, bigger really is better ... or at least that's what the owners of Burger King thought when they decided to craft the Whopper. Apparently, the brand's co-founder, Jim McLamore, noticed that other burger joints were selling burgers that were, well, big. If you've ever pulled up to the Burger King drive-thru feeling super hungry, then you can probably understand why there's such an appeal to big burgers: They promise big satisfaction. So, to keep up with the competition, McLamore thought it would be a good idea for Burger King to also craft a larger-than-life burger.

That is how the Whopper was born. The name alone implies bigness — you don't even need to be told that the patty comes in at a whopping (pun intended) ¼ pound. Sure, you may have eaten bigger burgers in the past, but if you're looking for a huge sandwich for a relatively low price, Burger King should still be at the top of your list.

Have you ever walked into a Burger King, taken a deep breath, and thought, "I want to smell just like that"? No? Well, then you may not appreciate the fact that Burger King Japan once thought it was a good idea to release a Whopper perfume. Back in 2015, you could snag perfume that was branded with the Burger King logo and promised to leave you smelling like you were fresh off the grill. Delicious! Unfortunately for everyone who was dying to smell like a Whopper, though, the perfume was actually only available for a single day. Sorry, you're not going to find a bottle of this stuff at Sephora.

Perhaps the best part was that with the purchase of the perfume (which came in at $41, which actually seems reasonable, if you ask us), you got a free Whopper. The Whopper is likely the only real usable part of the purchase, since there aren't many occasions where we can imagine it would be appropriate to walk around smelling like a fast food burger. Then again, it would probably make you a hit at the dog park.

Burger King's Whopper is many things, but it's certainly not spicy. We guess that's okay — after all, we don't really order a burger assuming that it's going to pack a lot of heat, so even the most avowed spicy food lovers can't get too upset at a burger that's devoid of spice. But we guess that some out there absolutely demanded a spicy version of the burger, and that's exactly what they got. Burger King called their spicy version of the Whopper the "Angry Whopper," although some claim that the burger wasn't really all that spicy at all. That burger came out in 2009, and it was only available for a limited time. It was made spicy with the addition of so-called "Angry Sauce," in addition to spicy fried onions, pepper jack cheese, and jalapeño slices.

The burger was only around for a short time, but for a small, glorious window of time, Burger King brought the spicy sandwich back. The only catch? It was only available in Columbus, Ohio. Perhaps there were some Angry Whopper fans enthusiastic enough to drive all the way to Columbus (or some lucky fans who already lived in the area and went all out when the burger was re-released). It's been a while, though, and we'll all have to wait for the brand to hopefully offer the spicy burger again someday.

There are so many ways to get in the spirit for the holidays, especially when the holiday in question is Halloween. Maybe you decorate your house and front yard, stock up on candy to share with any kiddos who stop by, and cook something warm and comforting for those crisp days of fall. Or you could just order a Halloween-themed Whopper from Burger King, we guess. The Halloween Whopper dropped in October of 2015 as a limited-edition celebration of the holiday, and although there were a few minor ingredient swaps, the one thing that really set this Whopper apart was the fact that the bun was dyed black. Spooky!

But perhaps what's even more spooky is the fact that consumers said that the dye used to color the bun made subsequent bathroom trips ... oddly hued. We guess if you want to feel scared on Halloween, that's one way to do it. The Halloween Whopper is one version of the burger we're not hoping makes a reappearance anytime soon.

So many of the best dishes in the world were made totally by accident. That may not be true of the original Whopper, but it is the story beyond Burger King's Jr. Whopper, a smaller, more manageable version of the classic. Back in 1963, a Cuban immigrant named Luis Arenas Pérez, who opened the Burger King in Puerto Rico, realized that on the day of opening, the store was still missing the molds that were used to make the original Whopper buns. To avoid having to turn people down who ordered a Whopper, he decided to use smaller buns from a local bakery. Not only did those buns work for the day, but they were used as the inspiration to make Jr. Whoppers from that point forward.

Anyone who's ever worked in food service knows that there are times in restaurants when unexpected issues come up, and you just have to roll with them. This particular Burger King icon just happened to turn one of those unexpected problems into a particularly tasty solution.

Burgers are decidedly not breakfast food. But, technically, breakfast is just a social construct, and you can eat anything you want whenever you want. That's why we support your right to have burgers for breakfast. And at one point in time, you could even snag yourself a Whopper first thing in the morning to get your day started off on the right foot. In 2014, Burger King launched a limited-time promotion called "Burgers for Breakfast." As the name suggests, you could snag yourself a burger, including the iconic Whopper, in addition to chicken sandwich options, all starting at 9 a.m.

Those days may be long gone, but there may be a way to get a burger well before breakfast, even now. If you're especially charming, you could always ask your local Burger King staff to hook you up with an a.m. Whopper — just don't be rude if they (understandably) refuse.