A Reddit user has gone viral after sharing an image of what he said is a McDonald's hamburger—with a bug baked into its bun. The post has generated 37,000 upvotes at the time of writing, and thousands have flocked to the comments section to revel in the icky scenario.
It's hardly the first time that a consumer has taken to social media after a negative experience with a large corporation—in fact, the tactic has emerged as one of the most effective ways to catch a company's attention with regard to poor quality, service, or other issues. Employees have joined in on the trend as well, regularly using social media to "expose" the alleged questionable practices of their employers.
Shared in the "Mildly Infuriating" forum on Thursday, Redditor u/stf29—also known as Seth—told Newsweek that the picture was taken "around 7:30" on Thursday. He had just gotten the burger to-go from a McDonald's in Helena, Alabama and planned on eating it at home.
He said: "I [opened] the box that the burger was in, saw the black spot, looked closer and noticed it was a bug."
The image speaks for itself. The close-up shot showed the top of the bun, laid atop two patties and melted cheese. On the bun, there are several white sesame seeds—except for one, which is a dark brown color. Upon further inspection, it becomes clear that the sesame-seed-sized object is actually a bug, with legs and antennae.
Following the realization was "a moment of disgust," Seth explained. However, after showing his mom, he said the two ultimately "found it funny and unsurprising."
"We don't normally eat at [McDonald's] unless it is a last resort," he added.
According to Seth, he has "[contacted] the store via email," but received "no response as of yet."
Newsweek reached out to McDonald's for comment.
In the comments section, viewers went wild with the photo's meme-worthy potential. "Bug Mac," punned u/fied1k. "With an insecti-side of fries," added u/Doc-in-a-box.
Jokes aside, many commenters shared stories that rival—if not surpass—the original post.
"My dad once got a deep fried spider with his fries," noted u/Felsig27.
"I once had half a cockroach inside [a] burger bun," wrote u/kirstet. "Why half? Well, I unknowingly ate the other half all while wondering about the crunching in my mouth."
At the other end of the commenting spectrum, some offered practical information to contextualize Seth's discovery—and, in doing so, maybe calm some diners' nerves.
"I used to work in a bun and bread factory, super common pest in the industry, people eat them daily and have no idea," wrote u/athenalorax/.
"It's literally impossible to have flour clean from insects. You could literally try starting your own farm and mill and it'd still likely be dirtier than what fast food chains have, because they're under stricter regulations than you'd think," u/raddaya.
"That's a grain beetle. It's extremely common and quite harmless. The FDA allows a certain number of insect parts per million in standard foods, i.e. flour. This is a good thing, because if we tried to eliminate all insects from our food supply then we'd need to throw away a massive quantity of food," explained u/frankbooycz/. "We eat insects like grain beetles every day, but most of us just don't realize it."
While some appreciated the lesson, others weren't too keen to know the details of their potential bug consumption. Replied u/CalculusII: "It's very nice and thank you for teaching us but how can I unlearn this."
Uncommon Knowledge
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