Iceland live streams a McDonald's cheeseburger from 2009 and it still looks the same

When one thinks of historical artifacts, one might think of antique jewelry, engraved ornaments, or cryptic diaries. However, there's a rather bizarre one on display in an Iceland museum. Believe it or not, it is a 14-year-old cheeseburger from McDonald’s. The burger, along with fries, has been on display and has attracted thousands of visitors curious to see this relic.

The story begins in 2012, when a man named Hjortur Smarason was clearing up his house to move elsewhere. While sifting through his stuff, he stumbled upon a McDonald's bag with a cheeseburger still wrapped in paper and a tub of fries. This was the last meal that Smarason purchased from McDonald’s in Iceland in 2009, when McDonald's was shutting down.

To his astonishment, the food was still in an immaculate condition, free from any speck of mold or decay. They appeared as fresh as if the burger pattie had just been grilled and the buns just flipped. “It looked like I bought it just 15 minutes earlier,” Smarason told Atlas Obscura. “And the same with the fries, it all looked almost new. Just turned cold on the way home.”

Smarason realized he had discovered a real vestige that was worthy of a museum exhibit. “This was now like a historical artifact that belonged to Iceland,” said Smárason. “The last McDonald’s burger in Iceland. And what do you do with a historical artifact? You put it in a museum.” At first, the relic was displayed at the National Museum of Iceland. In 2020, Smárason then handed it to the Bus Hostel, Reykjavik, where the meal was exhibited for several years. At present, the meal is displayed at another hostel in southern Iceland, the Snotra House, which also organized a live stream of the burger and fries in 2019 and thrilled the internet. 

Speaking about the time capsule, the hostel's owner Siggi Sigurdur told BBC News, "The old guy is still there, feeling quite well. It still looks quite good actually. It's a fun thing, of course, but it makes you think about what you are eating. There is no mold, it's only the paper wrapping that looks old." She further said that people come from around the world to see the antique burger.

Talking about the reason the meal stayed relatively fresh after all these years, McDonald’s clarified that their burgers don’t decompose due to a lack of moisture. McDonald’s sold its last meal in Iceland on 30th October 2009. It is said that, in 2008, the country suffered an economic collapse that left its currency, the Icelandic króna, incredibly weak. The imported produce needed by McDonald’s regulations was far too expensive for the existing outlets to continue being profitable. And so, it was shut down.

At present, there is no McDonald’s franchise in Iceland. However, a new fast food chain called Metro replaced McDonald’s. Metro sells everything, from hamburgers to french fries, salads, wraps, mozzarella sticks, soft drinks, and milkshakes.