Who Invented the Egg McMuffin?

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Breakfast truly is the monarch of meals, that time of the day when one is allowed to gorge on a cornucopia of nonchalantly combined delicacies ranging across the sweet and savoury spectrums, all washed down with streams of the world’s favorite drug in caffeine, as well as the white liquid excretions of cow’s, and/or the juices from the mangled, crushed bodies of our fellow living entities on this earth of the fruiting variety.

Besides, one can happily plow through such a caloric smorgasbord with the reassuring knowledge that our bodies may need huge amounts of energy before tackling another day of heavy toil, depending on what exactly your exact profession is. For example, skipping breakfast is attributed to costing the Roman Republic a massive defeat at the Battle of the Trebia River in December of 218 BC.

On that occasion, brilliant Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca unleashed his elite Numidian cavalry against the Roman camp at daybreak, to provoke them into an early battle. Ancient historian Polybius clearly stated that ‘His object [was] to get at the enemy before they had had their breakfast, or made any preparations for the day.’ Dehydrated, calorie starved soldiers in the end performing worse than their better nutritioned counterparts.

The Roman soldiers were thus duped into chasing their enemy across the freezing waters of the river Trebia. When it was time to get close and murdery with the Carthaginians, the Romans, to quote, ‘Were in a wretched state from the cold and want of food as the day wore on. While the Carthaginians on the contrary had eaten and drunk in their tents’

As covered in our video Who Invented Fast Food Restaurants?, Ancient Romans were no stranger to eateries where patrons could grab quick and fulfilling meals on the go.

Unfortunately for them, such establishments - known as popinae - were clearly not widespread in the countryside by the river Trebia.

Fortunately for you, however, the towns and cities where you live are littered with countless fast food places, where you can purchase a hot, most tasty, and delicious breakfast. A boost of energy that will keep you going through your day at work, whether you are delivering your carefully crafted presentation to the left flank of the Numidian cavalry, or delivering a volley of javelins against your cross-functional team.... Or possibly the other way round.

Whatever the case, nowadays it is commonplace to walk into a McDonald’s restaurant early in the morning and order something for breakfast.

According to recent estimates, breakfast may account for 25% of all McDonalds’ sales in the US. Moreover, breakfast represents the most profitable slice of the Golden Arches’ business compared to their later day meal offerings, as the costs involved are far cheaper compared to other menu items.

And there is another factor which makes breakfast particularly mouthwatering to the C-Suite at McDonald’s: patrons, and human beings in general, are creatures of habit. When it comes to meal habits, people tend to be more consistent at breakfast. Once you settle on a certain purveyor of early morning calories, you are more likely to stick to said purveyor, becoming the most heavenly creature alive to the eyes of marketing, sales and finance: a repeat customer.

Author: Arnaldo Teodorani
Editor: Daven Hiskey
Producer: Samuel Avila
Host: Simon Whistler