The McRib appeared on McDonald's menus countrywide intermittently and unexpectedly before its bogus retirement tour.
The corporation created it partially around pricing the pig scraps that make up the popular sandwich and partly to maintain its mystique.
McRib became more popular due to scarcity. Online fans created a webpage to chronicle the sandwich's rare appearance.
The recipe popularized the McRib in pop culture. The sandwich was spoofed in "The Simpsons," where Homer ignored his family to follow the Krusty Burger "Ribwich" across the country.
It demonstrated how a firm can control supplies to create a fast-food fad and how far people can go for something that is just slightly nice to eat.
That program perfectly mimicked McDonald's (MCD) and revealed its marketing strategies. It's not a secret-menu item because you can't order it. But it's often a secret.
While McDonald's can't match Krusty Burger's "Whatcha-ma-carcass" burger, it has another rare dish that's causing a frenzy.
White Buttermints, old-fashioned mints from your grandmother's house or that old-school restaurant your oldest relative likes, may be the chain's best secret.