McDonald's hamburger looks same after 14 years in storage

In 1999, Utah resident David Whipple bought a McDonald's hamburger, put it in his coat pocket, and forgot about it. Fourteen years later, the burger looked remarkably similar to the day it was purchased — no mold, no rot, just a dried-out patty and bun.

Whipple had originally bought the burger to show friends how preservatives keep fast food from decomposing. The burger changed hands over the years before ending up in his possession again in 2013, looking largely unchanged apart from some deterioration of the paper wrapper.

McDonald's responded that its burgers, like many foods, can dehydrate and dry out rather than rot when moisture is removed. Food scientists generally agree: a small, thin burger left in dry air loses its moisture quickly, and without moisture, mold and bacteria cannot grow. The same thing happens to homemade food left to dry out — it desiccates instead of decomposing.

The burger's longevity says less about preservatives than about basic food science: remove the water, and spoilage microbes have nothing to work with.