This McDonald’s burger from 1995 is perfectly intact — and even rats won’t eat it

Ben Cost
·3 min read
Casey Dean inspects a McDonald's burger he bought in 1995.
A seemingly immortal quarter pounder has never shown signs of decay despite being bought in 1995, possibly making it the world's oldest burger.

Old McDonald’s?

McDonald’s has notably produced some seemingly decomposition-defying burgers in the past. However, none compare to a seemingly immortal quarter pounder in Australia that has never shown signs of decay despite being bought nearly three decades ago.

Australian pals Casey Dean and Eduards Nits claimed that they ordered the Quarter Pounder with cheese in 1995 — when Bill Clinton was US president — from a McDonald’s in Adelaide when they were teenagers.

Little did they know, it would become one of the most famous noshes on earth.

A seemingly immortal quarter pounder has never shown signs of decay despite being bought in 1995, possibly making it the world’s oldest burger. AFP via Getty Images
A seemingly immortal quarter pounder has never shown signs of decay despite being bought in 1995, possibly making it the world’s oldest burger. AFP via Getty Images
The burger spent over a decade of its 30 years inside a stuffy shed in Adelaide, where the mercury frequently eclipses 86 degrees F in the summer. AFP via Getty Images
The burger spent over a decade of its 30 years inside a stuffy shed in Adelaide, where the mercury frequently eclipses 86 degrees F in the summer. AFP via Getty Images

“Being teenagers we ordered a truckload of food, and it was just way too much,” Dean told AFP. “It started a chain of events where we were joking ‘imagine if we kept this forever.'”

They put their money where their mouths were and decided to hang onto the ageless sandwich, which the two affectionately dubbed their “mate.”

Fast forward nearly 30 years later and the McFossil was still remarkably intact with no signs of mold or smell, although it has shrunk a smidge from its original size.

The nosh’s longevity is perhaps particularly impressive considering that it spent most of its life locked away in a cardboard and timber box. Over a decade of that time was spent inside a stuffy shed in Adelaide, where the mercury frequently eclipses 86 degrees F in the summer.

Dean said that the rats wouldn’t touch the burger. AFP via Getty Images
Dean said that the rats wouldn’t touch the burger. AFP via Getty Images

“The rats had actually eaten through the plastic bag, heaps of clothes, got into the box and they’d left the burger,” said Dean.

The Aussie’s grown so attached that he refuses to part with his “mate,” even turning down multiple offers that came his way when the immortal burger first came into the spotlight in 2015.

And while some skeptics question his claim that the Quarter pounder is the world’s oldest, Dean insists that the waxy paper and cardboard ring accurately date it to the mid-90s.

Unfortunately, this record is still disputed. In 2020, Utah’s David Whipple claimed he had the “world’s oldest” burger after unveiling a McDonald’s burger from 1999 that still looked like it was fresh off the grill.

He had ironically bought it to use in a presentation on deterioration, only to have his plan backfire spectacularly after he left the antique sandwich in his coat pocket and didn’t find it until 14 years later….looking good as new.

It’s unclear why certain McDonald’s noshes appear to have found the fast food fountain of youth.

McDonald’s has attributed their hamburger’s longevity to a dry environment that inhibits the growth of mold and bacteria.

“Food prepared at home that is left to dehydrate could see similar results,” they declared. “Look closely, the burgers you are seeing are likely dried out and dehydrated, and by no means ‘the same as the day they were purchased.’”