The McDonald's Peace Theory was first proposed by Thomas L. Friedman in 1996, hypothesizing that no two countries that both have a McDonald's within their borders have ever fought a war against each other (at the time, he was right — and stayed right until the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict). Now comes the time to see if the fast food empire can make peace domestically, too: By joining forces with its rival, Burger King.
The idea originated, unsurprisingly, with Burger King, the number two fast food chain in the nation, and still — excuse the pun — small fries next to McDonald's global domination. On Wednesday, Burger King took out full-page ads in The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune, asking if, just for a day, the two companies might open a pop-up store midway between a McDonald's and a Burger King restaurant in an Atlanta parking lot and sell the "McWhopper," a combination of the chains' most popular burgers. McDonald's, whose spokesperson declined to comment to The New York Times, has admittedly been put a little on the spot: After all, how would it look turning down an event that Burger King suggests donate proceeds to Peace One Day, a nonprofit group that raises awareness of International Peace Day?
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