WWTBAM Bored

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:52 pm**

LONDON — It's known as the home of 'The Whopper' and Burger King is hoping its latest product really lives up to its reputation. The fast-food giant launched a $200 burger Wednesday — all in the name of charity.

Setting a new record, the world's most expensive burger is available at just one restaurant in West London, England, once a week — but it will eventually be available to order via a hotline.

The fine ingredients of what is called simply 'The Burger' include Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.

Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson told Sky News Online: "It sounds delicious. The ingredients are very good and high powered, but why are Burger King doing it?"

All the proceeds from The Burger sales will go to the Help A London Child charity, which assists young people experiencing abuse, homelessness, disability, poverty and illness.

David Kisilevsky, at Burger King, said: "The Burger reflects our ongoing commitment to producing for a range of different pockets."

The Burger beat the previous world record for the most expensive burger, held by Daniel Boulud for the DB Double Truffle Burger in New York, (1994) priced at $130.

By lunchtime on the first day of The Burger's unveiling, eight had been purchased, said Chef Mark Dowding, the director of new product development and innovation for the fast food chain.

Dowding said he hoped that more than 100 would be sold by the end of the day.

I would totally buy one and split it with the family.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:01 pm**

I have a coupon for a free Whopper when I buy a medium Coke and fries, so maybe I'll just ask them to make it that way.

Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce,
Special orders don't upset us,
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way,
Have it your way,
Have it your way,
Have it your way at Burger King.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:21 pm**

Good news! "THE Burger" (that's its name) doesn't really cost $200. It costs only £95. At current exchange rates, that's only about $187.63. And I assume that includes all taxes.
http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/articles/6316 ... oryid=9045

I can see why American news outlets might sometimes think they need to dumb down or exaggerate international news so their audience can understand it, but at what point does it cross the line from patronizing news to fake news?

I assumed that the original story fudged the exchange rate and the real price was £100. I was surprised to learn that the real price was £95. Stuff like that can be important if you're asked about it in the hot seat.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:45 pm**

I don't think that would fit on my tray....

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:39 pm**

TheConfessor wrote:Good news! "THE Burger" (that's its name) doesn't really cost $200. It costs only £95. At current exchange rates, that's only about $187.63. And I assume that includes all taxes.
http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/articles/6316 ... oryid=9045

I can see why American news outlets might sometimes think they need to dumb down or exaggerate international news so their audience can understand it, but at what point does it cross the line from patronizing news to fake news?

I assumed that the original story fudged the exchange rate and the real price was £100. I was surprised to learn that the real price was £95. Stuff like that can be important if you're asked about it in the hot seat.

Feature stories are not written for game show contestants. They are written for the general public, who generally says "$200" rather than "$187. 63" when asked how much a thing costs.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:41 pm**

TheConfessor wrote:Good news! "THE Burger" (that's its name) doesn't really cost $200. It costs only £95. At current exchange rates, that's only about $187.63. And I assume that includes all taxes.
http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/articles/6316 ... oryid=9045

I can see why American news outlets might sometimes think they need to dumb down or exaggerate international news so their audience can understand it, but at what point does it cross the line from patronizing news to fake news?

I assumed that the original story fudged the exchange rate and the real price was £100. I was surprised to learn that the real price was £95. Stuff like that can be important if you're asked about it in the hot seat.

With pickles it's $200.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:56 pm**

Bob Juch wrote:With pickles it's $200.

That's probably true, actually!! I love how "have it your way" basically means take off anything you don't want, but if you want to add something we charge you more. I once asked to add lettuce to my cheeseburger (but deleted the standard onions and mustard) and was charged 20 cents. On a $1 item that's significant markup!!

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:01 pm**

Ritterskoop wrote:
Feature stories are not written for game show contestants. They are written for the general public, who generally says "$200" rather than "$187. 63" when asked how much a thing costs.

Or $190, perhaps.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:20 pm**

Ritterskoop wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
Feature stories are not written for game show contestants. They are written for the general public, who generally says "$200" rather than "$187. 63" when asked how much a thing costs.
Or $190, perhaps.

What's wrong with just printing the truth, that it costs £95? Do they think Americans are so stupid that we think a Burger King in London would list its prices in US dollars?

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:26 pm**

TheConfessor wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
Feature stories are not written for game show contestants. They are written for the general public, who generally says "$200" rather than "$187. 63" when asked how much a thing costs.
Or $190, perhaps.
What's wrong with just printing the truth, that it costs £95? Do they think Americans are so stupid that we think a Burger King in London would list its prices in US dollars?

I doubt they think Americans believe London establishments use dollar figures.

I think they think most Americans do not know how to do the conversion, and that some do not have the resources to do it.

I think they are correct. Most readers prefer having this kind of math done for them.

If I had worked this story, I would have said "costs 95 pounds, or roughly $190 dollars at the time of publication". I would have to search a while to find the pound sign in the special characters keyboard, though, and would have to explain it to the readers anyway. Many would not know what it meant.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:29 pm**

TheConfessor wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
Ritterskoop wrote:
Feature stories are not written for game show contestants. They are written for the general public, who generally says "$200" rather than "$187. 63" when asked how much a thing costs.
Or $190, perhaps.
What's wrong with just printing the truth, that it costs £95? Do they think Americans are so stupid that we think a Burger King in London would list its prices in US dollars?

I don't think it's a big conspiracy, I think they were probably just trying to write it for the American public. I think when writing articles in America, journalists typically use American units of measure to ensure that the greatest number of readers can relate. The article I read described it as "just shy of $200", which may be a little less controversial seeing as it is neither inaccurate nor overly specific.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:28 pm**

And by the way, I also think it is nice that BK is doing this for charity. A little oddly upscale for them, but still nice. According to the article I read, the ingredients for the burger cost $80 so I'm guessing it's the profit of $120 per burger that is what is being donated to charity (unless BK is kicking in the ingredients as a donation). $200 is a bit hefty for fast food, I'd be more likely to go for $100 (I mean seriously, it's not like I can get a glass of wine with this), unless it was for a charity I really felt connected with.

Posted: **Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:50 pm**

Ritterskoop wrote:If I had worked this story, I would have said "costs 95 pounds, or roughly $190 dollars at the time of publication". I would have to search a while to find the pound sign in the special characters keyboard, though, and would have to explain it to the readers anyway. Many would not know what it meant.

I think we're pretty much in agreement on how it should have been done. If Americans are constantly force fed a diet of junk news, dumbed down so they won't have to think too hard or be exposed to new concepts like the Pound Sterling, we shouldn't be too surprised when Americans are woefully uninformed about the world outside of our national borders.

Mattel once caught a lot of flak for selling a talking Barbie doll that said "Math class is tough." Whoever wrote the article above apparently agreed with Barbie. British Pounds are tough. So let's just ignore them and pretend that the UK uses US Dollars.

When I need to use a special character, I usually find an existing article that uses it and then just copy and paste it into whatever I'm writing. Or if it's something you do pretty often, you can just bookmark a page like this one and copy and paste whatever you need:
http://www.yellowpipe.com/yis/tools/ASC ... /index.php

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:28 am**

The burger looks yummy to me.

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:33 am**

The fine ingredients of what is called simply 'The Burger' include Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.

For $187, I want bacon and cheese!

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:28 am**

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I would totally buy one and split it with the family.

And having spent your £95--non-deductable to the burger buyers, I presume--you'd each eat a quarter of a burger and still be hungry.

Posted: **Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:50 am**

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:The burger looks yummy to me.

It probably is yummy if you like the taste of lipstick and paint....

lb13

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Burger King $200 Burger

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