What does Taco Bell mean to you? Is it just greasy fast food, or is it the comfort food you're craving? Regardless of how you see the food chain, you'll be blown away by their insane history. Keep reading to discover the
craziest Taco Bell facts to read while in the bathroom!
1
It took Taco Bell food engineers two years and 40 different recipes to create the Doritos Loco taco. It became so popular that it led to Taco Bell adding 15,000 jobs, propelling the company to outgrow Pizza Hut, KFC and even McDonald’s. -u/SappyGilmore
2
Taco Bell once trolled McDonald's with a commercial featuring 25 real-life Ronald McDonald's endorsing their brand. -u/MoryTober
3
In 2001, when the space station Mir was set to return to earth, Taco Bell set up a floating target in the Pacific Ocean, promising free tacos to everyone in the US if the space station hit it. -u/toin9898
4
Taco Bell has failed twice to expand their operations to Mexico. In 1992, Mexican customers found their tacos too expensive, and in 2010 their expansion restaurant closed because customers were unfamiliar with the menu items. -u/bawledannephat
5
On April 1st, 1996 Taco Bell made an announcement that they bought the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell causing outrage and a huge spike in Taco Bell sales. -u/Severe_Comfort
6
NASA used Taco Bell tortillas for space missions - bread had too many crumbs so they used tortillas for sandwiches, and NASA started making space tortillas. Taco Bell made a tortilla in the 90s with a 9-month shelf life, so NASA started using those instead. -u/spudmonk
7
A guy awoke from a coma and his first words were "I want Taco Bell." -deleted user
8
In 2012, pranksters posted flyers falsely claiming a Taco Bell would be opening in their small Alaskan city of 6,000. When Taco Bell discovered this, they shipped in the ingredients for 10,000 tacos. -u/randomstranger76
9
The Taco Bell Chihuahua, Gidget, went on to play Bruiser's mom in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde. -u/nrossj
10
The creator of Taco Bell reverse engineered his taco recipe from a Mexican taco stand that was outselling his hot dog stand. The name of his new taco restaurant underwent several changes, from Taco-Tia through El Taco, before settling on Taco Bell. -u/bhaggith
11
Pizza Hut was substituted for Taco Bell and lines were redubbed and logos replaced for the European version of Demolition Man. -u/QualityKoalaTeacher
12
Taco Bell failed to pay two Michigan men who created the Taco Bell Chihuahua mascot and were court-ordered to pay back $42 million dollars. -u/dysgraphical
13
The first-ever product recall of a food because of its genetically engineered ingredients was when Taco Bell brand taco shells were pulled from stores after tests confirmed the presence of an ingredient not approved for human consumption. -u/DystopianAdvocate
14
In 2010, Taco Bell secretly reduced the sodium content of its food at 150 Dallas area restaurants by 23%. Without telling anyone, they replaced the salt with "other spices and other ingredients.” Two months later, they had received exactly zero complaints about the changes. -deleted user
15
In 2019 Taco Bell opened a pop-up hotel called "The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort" which opened for one weekend in August. Upon the announcement, the hotel was booked up in two minutes. -u/86-Everything
16
Taco Bell restaurants used to have a real bell on the roof. -u/02K30C1
17
Taco Bell sold 100 Million Doritos Locos tacos in the first 10 weeks. It took McDonald's 18 years to sell the same amount of burgers. -u/adobe1kinobe
18
There is a literary magazine titled "Taco Bell Quarterly" dedicated to writing about "any and all elements of Taco Bell." -u/muffinartillery
19
In order to open a Taco Bell franchise, Taco Bell requires you to have a minimum net worth of $1.5 million and at least $750,000 in liquid assets. -u/Miskatonica
20
In 2019, a Florida man captures a WWII grenade while magnet fishing. Instead of reporting it immediately to the authorities, he placed it on his trunk and headed to a Taco Bell before calling 911. -u/Stardust029
21
Taco Bell is one of Americas healthiest fast food chains. -u/JoelLCreations
22
The rock band Slaughter played a free show at a Miami Taco Bell because it was their favorite restaurant. -u/Toodlum
23
There is a Taco Bell in the Center of the Pentagon. -u/ImmaculateJones
24
In 2008, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson sued Taco Bell over an ad campaign in which it invited him to change his name for one day from 50 Cent to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent, in line with pricing for some of its items, and they would donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. -u/ReubenFroster56
25
A federal prison inmate sued Taco Bell for stealing his Doritos Taco idea. -u/Heritaged
