20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Burger King

19. The Pillsbury Doughboy Owned Burger King

After James McLamore and David Edgerton rescued a failing business called Insta-Burger-King, they renamed the company and ran it themselves until 1967, when it was sold to Pillsbury. In attempting to restructure the company, the Pillsbury management appear to have had one goal: to make it as much like McDonald€™s as possible. To that end, they hired McDonald€™s executive Donald Smith who, in a plan called Operation Phoenix, standardized restaurant designs, broadened the menu and updated franchise agreements. Smith eventually left to join Pepsi, precipitating a decline in sales that led to the company being sold to Grand Metropolitan, a British entertainment conglomerate, in 1989.