A photo of a 6-year-old Happy Meal that doesn't appear to have decomposed much has created a stir on social media with the Facebook post being shared more than 328,000 times.
Jennifer Lovdahl, who
USA Today identified as a chiropractor from Alaska, posted the Facebook photo and note on Feb. 3, saying that she bought the Happy Meal six years ago as part of an experiment.
Lovdahl said the experiment sought to show how food purchased at McDonald's does not decompose or even mold, emitting only the smell of the cardboard box, according to USA Today.
McDonald's provides an explanation of sorts on the "FAQs" section of its website, under the question, "Why doesn't your food rot?"
"Actually, it can," stated the website "Food needs moisture in the air for mold to form. Without it, food will simply dry out — sort of like bread left out on a counter overnight to make croutons for stuffing. You might have seen experiments which seem to show no decomposition in our food. Most likely, this is because the food has dehydrated before any visible deterioration could occur."
Regardless, the experiment sparked a lot of chatter on Twitter.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.