They call it "The last McDonald's hamburger in Iceland." Purchased more than five years ago, it has been displayed in the National Museum of Iceland. Now a webcam has been devoted to the hamburger (with a side of fries), among the last sold by the American company in the country.
The McDonald's hamburger is now on display at the Bus Hostel Reykjavik in Iceland.
In its glass display case, the burger could be seen as a mute commentary, delivered at the nexus of modern foodways and a global economy.
Or, it could just be an experiment to see what a McDonald's hamburger looks like when it gets old.
Icelandic news site MBL tells us, "The only notable difference from a new burger is that the meat patty is a little lighter in color."
The meal was purchased nearly 2,000 days ago by Hjörtur Smárason, when Iceland's economy was suffering a severe financial crisis.
As Smárason tells MBL, the burger has survived several moves — and the disdain of a Danish specialist who wanted to throw it out, saying it couldn't be preserved.
"I think he was wrong because this hamburger preserves itself," Smárason says.
If you were hoping to see a a hamburger in decay, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum made a timelapse video last year (see below). And Buzzfeed kept 7 fast-food hamburgers under glass for 30 days to compare how they age.
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