"super size" news and stories

Apparently, Viacom International Inc., which owns MTV and produces the TV show Pimp My Ride, owns a trademark that covers the use of not only the phrase "pimp my ride" but of "pimp my." As such, they requested that the fantastic snack site formerly known as Pimp My Snack change its name. Without admitting any liability or other intentional wrongdoing, the snack-pimping gang changed the name so that their pimping could continue unimpeded. They can now be found at Pimp That Snack.

If you haven't seen the site before, they take normal snacks and reproduce them in huge (and delicious) proportions. We mentioned them back at Easter, but here are a few looks at what they've been up to recently. Be warned that you may have a strong desire to pimp snacks after hanging around the site:

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What could possibly be the world's most confusing naming system, the Wendy's "biggie" sizing, is coming to an end. The company, which is the 3rd largest burger chain in the US, decided that the names "small," "medium" and "large" are easier for customers to use, despite the fact that they have been imposing the "biggie" sizes for over a decade.

Unfortunately, the change might not be all that less confusing to customers. The old sizing system was small (16-oz.), medium (20-oz), Biggie (32-oz.) and Great Biggie (42-oz.). The new system is small (20-oz.), medium (32-oz) and large (42-oz.), with no extra large; each size is significantly larger than it was only 1 week ago, with the smallest size eliminated, not to mention that it is different (still larger) than other fast food restaurants.

Reuters mentions that this change to larger drink sizes comes after the company, in an attempt to promote their food as healthier, nearly eliminated trans fats from their foods. Calories must be "healthier," then, right?

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Though there has been some debate in the past about who makes the world's biggest burger, the Guinness Book of World's Records officiated at the weigh-in of a 29.5-pound burger at the Foxwoods Resort Casino's Fuddruckers restaurant. They granted the 18.5-in. wide by 8-in. tall burger the title of "world's largest commercially available burger." It costs $250 and must be ordered 48 hours in advance.

There is one burger that is said to be larger: the Mount Olympus burger at the Clinton Station Diner, in New Jersey.  According to the diner, it weighs 50 pounds. A look at what goes into it reveals why it is not classified as the world's largest burger - Guinness officiation or not: it only has 25 pounds of beef in it. Twenty-five pounds of toppings on a bun, even with meat, makes a salad and not a burger. The Fuddruckers burger, by contrast, started with 33 pounds of beef and, while it did cook down to about 25 pounds, there were only 4.5 pounds of toppings on the final product, making it meatier than the Olympus and more title-worthy.

[via Supersized Meals, images Norwich Bulletin]

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Sno Balls are snack cakes made by Hostess. They were introduced in 1947 and consist of a chocolate cupcake filled with creme filling, coated with a marshmallowy fluff and rolled in coconut. When you look closely, you can see that the interior is really  a regular Hostess Ding Dong or cupcake that has been turned upside down. Nevertheless, they have a lot of retro appeal and, like must snack foods, become even more appealing when super-sized. I found this photoset on Flickr when I was looking around for more pimped out snack ideas. The chocolate cake dome was baked in a round bowl, hollowed out and covered with homemade marshmallow. Check out the whole photoset to see all the steps.

I'm definitely keeping this idea near the top of my list for birthday party cakes. Not only is it adorable, but since it's homemade, I'm willing to bet that it's delicious.

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Despite the fact that McDonalds has been receiving an extra-large serving of criticism recently, it hasn’t discouraged the company from doing what it does best: making burgers. While some customers turn away, others still look for size and value in their fast food and the new Bigger Big Mac, due to be released soon in the UK, will give them both. The burger is a full 40% larger than the regular Big Mac and, base on that, can be expected to pack at least 700 calories. It is a limited edition burger that is being targeted at football fans, so the release coincides with the 2006 World Cup. Spain and Germany are also likely to see the release of this bigger Mac.

[Image MegaStar]

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