Finger Lickin' Lawsuit

Rerun. Colonel Harland Sanders’ image continues to grace the logo of KFC, who continue to sell the chicken inspired by his ‘11 secret herbs and spices’. But on 14th March, 1978 the Colonel and the chain’s owners were at legal loggerheads over his constant criticism of their food.

As KFC franchises were rolled out worldwide, Sanders was highly critical of the innovations made to his recipe - describing the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken" - and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop".

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the Colonel’s surprising devotion to swearing; explain how his devotion to quality made him the ‘Heston Blumenthal of fried chicken’; and revisit the debacle of ‘Kentucky Roast Beef’… 

Further Reading: • ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978): https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html • ‘8 Things You May Not Know About the Real Colonel Sanders’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/8-facts-real-colonel-sanders-kfc • ‘Colonel Sanders: Integrity in What You Do’ (KFC promotional video, 1970s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPwWu4PKjU

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

Love the show? Join