Aussie Critics Rip Micky D's McMath Tutoring

Care for some fertilizer with your burger?

(NEWSER) - Duck feathers, human hair, fertilizer: These are among the ingredients you may be ingesting every time you chow down on fast food. That's because the FDA has deemed certain additives to be "generally recognized as safe," even though it may creep you out to learn of them. On Mother Nature Network , Melissa Breyer runs down eight of the most disturbing:

• Duck feathers and human hair: These two unappealing things are the most common sources for an amino acid, l-cysteine, used to make dough easier to process. McDonald's uses l-cysteine, the duck feather kind, in its apple pie.
• Fertilizer: Ammonium sulfate is also commonly used, as "yeast food for bread," in fast food bakery products. But it can also act as a fertilizer for alkaline soils.

It's the only nation in Latin America to lose the arches

(NEWSER) - Those traveling in Bolivia can forget about a Big Mac. McDonald's has closed its eight restaurants there because of weak sales, making Bolivia the only nation in Latin America without the golden arches, reports the Hispanically Speaking News blog . The chain tried without success for 14 years to gain a foothold in the nation. More»

It's the first change in the fast food chain since 1969

(NEWSER) - Goodbye, Burger King. Hello, Burger Queen. Wendy’s is about to overtake Burger King as the No. 2 fast food chain in US sales, according to a new report from market research firm Technomic. If that doesn’t sound momentous to you, consider that it’s the first time the big three burger chains have switched order since Wendy’s was founded in 1969, the Wall Street Journal points out. What’s more impressive: Wendy’s sales—expected to be $8.42 billion this year—will come from around 5,800 restaurants, compared to roughly 7,200 for Burger King. How far behind will Burger King be? About $53 million. More»

Perceived differences a matter of culture, not biology: study

(NEWSER) - Cross another stereotype off the list: Any differences between men's and women's math abilities are cultural, not innate, a study finds. Studies that have suggested such differences covered too few countries to give an accurate picture, researchers say. The new study, however, reviewed math scores across 86 countries, with a better representation of non-Western societies, reports the Daily Mail . "We found that boys—as well as girls—tend to do better in maths when raised in countries where females have better equality, and that's new and important," says one researcher. More»

Delivery is driving sales growth from Cairo to China

(NEWSER) - McDonald's and KFC are surging ahead in emerging markets like China and India with a service available to few American customers: home delivery. In crowded cities across Asia and the Middle East where pricey real estate makes drive-through restaurants a rare sight, fleets of motorbikes make their way through traffic to deliver American fast food, the Wall Street Journal finds. More»