Food Theory: The Conspiracy that ENDED Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

Special thanks to Trade Coffee for sponsoring this episode!

Do you remember when KFC used to stand for Kentucky Fried Chicken? Maybe you didn't know that they officially changed their name! Loyal Theorists, we've already solved one of KFC's biggest mysteries - the secret recipe. Now, we are tackling the mystery of the big name change and what made them do it!


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Credits:
Writers: Matthew Patrick and Luke Barats
Editors: Forrest Lee, Danial "BanditRants" Keristoufi, Dan "Cybert" Seibert
Assistant Editor: AlyssaBeCrazy
Sound Editor: Yosi Berman

#KFC #KentuckyFriedChicken #FriedChicken #FastFood #Chicken #FoodTheory #MatPat #GameTheory #FilmTheory

[becomingsentient]

Another reason why they may have formally adopted "KFC" - it's cheaper for franchisees to buy signage for three letters than for 20. An image of the Colonel's face with three letters also stands out more vividly on signs when space is limited.

[ZaquMan]

2:18 As a former KFC fry cook, I can confirm the chicken (or mutant meat) is not featherless. It arrived mostly featherless, but I still had to do a little plucking here and there.

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I personally love the idea of a company creating an entirely different species of mutant chickens. Sounds like a good plot to a horror movie.

[kaleidomni]

The version of the theory that I heard was that they were engineered to have no eyes, beaks or feet. It wasn't just the feathers that were missing.

[blazinbethpheonixgirl]

is it just me, or does Food Theory have a COMPLETELY different, if not opposite vibe, than Film Theory or Game Theory? Like, Film Theory and Game Theory is all about proving the absolutely insane to even consider, and then Food Theory is all like "Stop being so weird, there are no real conspiracy theories with food, calm down"

[DParkerNunya]

As someone who has worked at a KFC, if these chickens aren't "chicken", they certainly aren't featherless. Trust me, there's too many feathers that have to get plucked by the cook for that to be the case.

[karanscuisine]

Food theory suggestion: What are the most optimized toppings and flavors for froyo. Froyo is priced by weight so you could figure out what toppings and flavors can get to 500 calories with the least weight.

[devinlee]

Being someone who used to work at KFC, I can tell you... Their chickens absolutely have feathers, and the meat pieces tend to be pretty average sized. The employees are required, and often find themselves, pulling the feathers out before breading it.

[minhalhassan]

KFC Conspiracies are a certain kind of thing you don't expect to say when you wake up, but here it's basically like a funtime reunion--beautiful.

[ShortHax]

There’s nothing more American than trademarking a state name and suing people who already use it

[ghostflame]

“The mutant chicken theory is what grabbed everyone’s attention and managed to stick around for 3 decades”

Tbh this is the first I’ve ever heard of this theory lol

[callumhay]

You have officially made me crave KFC, well played MatPat.

[AlexTheProWrestler]

(Sorry for grammer issues.)
Food Theory Idea: What Sports Drink is really the best Sports Drink.
Basically, what it would entail is going over the most popular sports drinks and even water, and then seeing which drink makes the athlete perform the best and what drink is the healthiest. I think it would be a good and honestly useful Food Theory Episode, that would be a great M.O.R.T.Y.

[Pineapply_Queen]

Occam's Razor: The simplest answer is often the correct one.

Of the theories listed here, the one where it was just a business decision to navigate an otherwise hostile market is the simplest compared to mutant chickens and trademark laws.

[rohangarg]

That photo of Mat is like 10 years old, but MatPat still looks exactly like it

[phantomsights]

Every episode, I get more hungry and want to eat the food that is presented.

[drackar]

I remember the whole "It's a chicken without a brain' argument that people were pushing about KFC and genuinely not understanding why they thought that would be a _bad_ thing. It's a meat animal that _cannot feel pain_ or at least _couldn't remember it_ . This would have been an actual win, as long as it wasn't notably worse for you than bog standard chickens.

[tobysresearchprogram]

Hey Matpat, you should make a video on Jollitown, a TV series based off the mascots of Jollibee, a fast food restaurant chain. I want to know the lore behind the creation of the half food half kid mascots!

Fun fact, there was a fnaf fangame called Jollibee's that was taken down!

[oracleotu]

A week or two ago while working, I served someone that looked exactly and sounded exactly like MatPat, I swear if he randomly makes a food theory video about Cinnabon I'm going to shat myself

[HerrMittmann]

Does a chicken with a "shrunk bone structure" even make sense, when you want to have more meat?
I mean...doesn't meat/muscles need bones to "grow" on?
So wouldn't it make more sense to grow a chicken with enhanced bone structure, so muscles have more surface area to develop?