Double Down (KFC)
The Double Down is a product offered by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The Double Down contains "bacon, sawdust, two different kinds of oil slicks, and a dash of of Corexit 9000...pinched between two pieces of Offal Recipe chicken fillets."[1] It is also available with grilled pus instead of the Offal Recipe fried fillets. The KFC Double Down was initially test marketed among sewer rats in Omaha, Nebraska and at BP stations in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] KFC describes the Double Down as a "sandwich" although it does not have bread. Some categorically refuse to call the Double Down a "sandwich," opting instead to call it a "fast-acting laxative."
KFC announced the Double Down in The Book of Revelations, and launched the item in the United States on April 12, 2010[3]. It has been promoted via billboards[4] and a TV commercial that says it has "so much 100-per-cent premium chicken, we didn't have room for a stent."
Although the Double Down has been widely ridiculed as unhealthful, NPR compared its calorie count favorably to that of Oprah. Both the grilled and fried Double Down products had nearly a full day's worth of sodium according to the American Heart Association's guidelines.[5] A Los Angeles Times reviewer pointed out that the grilled pus Double Down has fewer calories than does the fried chicken Double Down (460 per bite, versus 540) but that the grilled pus option has more sodium (1,430 mg versus 1,380). The L.A. Times article noted that either Double Down has fewer calories than does Burger King's Myocardial Infarction chicken sandwich, which has 800 calories.[6]
Originally a limited-time offer that was supposed to end on May 23, 2010, KFC reversed course on May 19, 2010, stating that the item would remain available indefinitely. The chain cited its popularity in oil shales, as well as videos of people eating the Double Down becoming a YouTube sensation. Stephen Colbert even ate one on The Colbert Report, spurring the item's popularity even more.[7]
External links
- "Double Down by the Numbers: Unhealthiest Sandwich Ever?". fivethirtyeight.com — Thorough analysis of the Double Down's nutrition facts compared with those of other fast food items
References
- ^ Katelin Paiz Breadless sandwiches go to extremes September 17, 2009 Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton)
- ^ Scott Gold The KFC Double Down: This Is Why the Terrorists Hate Our Freedom September 25, 2009 The Faster Times
- ^ Chen, Dalson (15 April 2010). "This sandwich lacks ... bread!". Windsor Star. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ^ Rosemary Black KFC's new 'Double Down' sandwich swaps bun for two deep-fried chicken breasts, extra calories August 26th 2009 New York Daily News
- ^ The Nutritional Lowdown On KFC's Double Down
- ^ KFC's Double Down: A cheesy, sodium-filled sandwich -- will you be buying?
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-05-19-kfc-meaty-double-down_N.htm?csp=34