The McSpotlight Quiz Winners

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The McSpotlight Quiz '99
and the winners are...

First prizes

Seeing as only three people got all 22 answers correct, we thought we'd do the decent thing and give them a first prize each. And the lucky contestants are:

They each wIn a McLibel party pack containing a McLibel video, a McLibel book and a McSpotlight CD-Rom
Runners up - McSpot CD-ROMs

The twelve runners up each win a McSpotlight CD-ROM. They were picked for their rib-cracking tiebreakers, rather than how many questions they got right:

I like to give my money to McDonald's because...

... I want to destroy the world but I can't afford nuclear weapons. Dean Galloway
... I tried to throw it into a landfill but it was full. wayne hannibal
... i only have one leg! dave
... they have such big plans for it. Genevieve Lakier
... I'm going on holiday to Brazil and need somewhere to park my car. Billy Bob
... the tv tells me to. Craig Hughes
... because, because, because, because... because of the wonderful things it does! Paul Vachon
... I know part of it will go to support needy children (employees of McDonalds) and the elderly (employees of Mcdonalds) and the downtrodden (employees of McDonalds). D Dragos
... I am a doctor specializing in heart problems. McDonald's provides three-quarters of my income. AK
... they give me food in return. Maestro
... I love their prices! I can exploit workers, destroy the enviorment, clog my own arties for only $5.74. Michelle Houlton
... everybody else does. David

If you've got nothing better to do, you can read through all the tiebreakers here

The correct answers to the quiz are highlighted below - turn away now if you'd like to play the quiz to see how high you can score.

1. Which of the following have not been found in McDonald's food?
A nematode worm
Half a mouse
Rat poison
E. coli bacteria

2. According to McDonald's UK Vice-President, what are living conditions like for battery chickens laying eggs for Egg McMuffins?
"Appalling"
"Tolerable "
"Pretty comfortable"

3. Which of these is NOT true about McDonald's, according to the McLibel judgement?
They exploit children with their advertising
They are responsible for cruelty to animals
They are responsible for creating litter
They pay low wages
They produce misleading advertising

4. How much did Helen and Dave owe to McDonald's at the end of the McLibel Trial?
60,000 pounds
14 million pounds
a round of drinks

5. And how much did they agree to pay?
All of it
All of it, in 10 pound installments over the next 43 years
Nothing

6. According to McDonald's UK Vice-President, why is it environmentally friendly for McD's to produce mountains of disposable packaging and then dispose of it as landfill?
"... because little fluffy bunny rabbits can use the cartons for nest-building."
"... because otherwise you'd end up with lots of vast, empty gravel pits all over the country."
"... because the trees which are cut down to make the packaging disrupt our delicate ecosystem by producing oxygen."

7. What was McD's official estimate of the length of the McLibel trial, which lasted two and a half years and became the longest trial in English history?
3-4 weeks
2 years
a lifetime

8. According to McDonald's Senior Vice-President of Marketing, why is coca-cola nutritious?
Because it is "providing water, and I think that is part of a balanced diet"
Because it "contains all the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy lifestyle"
Because it "doesn't contain as much fat as a Big Mac"
Because "I drink three cans a day and I'm still alive"

9. According to McDonald's President in Japan, how can Japanese people become tall, blond and white-skinned?
By eating "McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years."
By utilising the new McDonald's-sponsored invitro gene-replacement technique.
By "becoming crew members at McDonald's"

10. How many 'What's Wrong With McDonald's?' leaflets have been handed out worldwide since the writs were served on the McLibel 2, in 1990?
None
150
3 million in the UK, plus a million worldwide in 27 languages

11. Roughly how many accesses has McSpotlight had since it's launch in 1996?
75
75,000
75,000,000

12. Taking into consideration your answer from the previous two questions, would you say McD's attempt to stop the dissemination of critical information has been successful?
yes
no

13. According to a McDonald's internal memo in 1986, what is the purpose of McD's advertising?
"To fairly reflect the true nature of our products, allowing the public to make an informed choice as to whether to make a purchase"
"To neutralise the junk-food misconceptions about McD's good food"

14. And according to McDonald's UK Marketing Services Manager?
"To warn children of the dangers of a high-fat, low fibre diet"
"To dominate the communications area and compete for a share of the customers mind"

15. How much of the used packaging collected over several years in a McD's instore scheme was recycled into such things as "plant pots, coat hangers and insulation material for use in homes", as trumpeted in national company McFact cards?
94%
37%
Less than 0.00003%

16. According to McDonald's UK Vice-President, why do McDonald's not have a nutrition department?
"It is not felt to be important enough to have a separate nutritional department like McDonald's have marketing or communications departments."
"Because the food we sell is not nutritious"
"We did have one, but they all mysteriously died from heart disease"

17. According to McDonald's expert witness on nutrition, what is junk food?
"A food high in saturated fat, sodium and sugar and low in fibre, vitamins and minerals"
"Whatever a person doesn't like"
"Anything with a little 'M' on the packaging."

18. According to McDonald's UK Chief Marketing Office, what is a key element of Free Speech in the UK?
"The right to criticise multinational companies"
"The right of ordinary people to freely express views about people or organisations influencing their daily lives, without the fear of a libel case."
"Advertising"

19. What did the residents of Hinchley Wood, South London, do when their local pub was sold to McDonald's?
Rushed down the front of the queue to order the first Big Macs
Occupied the site (for 300 days so far)
Held a two-day 'McCelebration' in the town square

20. Which of the following activities are McDonald's workers who are trying to start a union allowed to do?
Collect subscriptions
Put up notices
Pass out leaflets
Organise staff meetings to discuss conditions at the store on the premises
Inform the union about conditions inside the stores
Shut up and work harder

21. What did Mike Love, McDonald's UK Head of Communications, work as before joining McD's?
Human guinea pig for chemical weapons
Primary school teacher, specialising in children with learning difficulties
Margaret Thatcher's Election Aide

22. And Dick Starmann, McDonald's Senior Vice-President? (Clue: he was one of two people sent from the US to hold secret settlement negotiations with Helen and Dave during the McLibel Trial)
Pest control officer
Tax inspector
Psychological warfare in the US military

tiebreaker
In case we have more than one winner, the following tiebreaker will decide who wins. Just complete the sentence in less than 20 words (not including ours). The funniest answer wins.

I like to give my money to McDonald's because ...

your details
Thanks very much. Now please enter your details below and hit 'enter quiz'. We will contact the winners soon after New Year's day 2000. We won't pass any of your details onto anyone else.

your name:

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