No, McDonald’s never blended earthworms or cow eyeballs into the ground beef for its burgers. And Kentucky Fried Chicken didn’t change its name to KFC because the birds it sourced were mutants with six wings and couldn’t legally be called chickens anymore.

But, astoundingly, those reports did get some play in the pre-internet age, and you can still find references on the (mis)information superhighway today. With social media and the mass-market reach of the web, stories like those can spread in a flash, forcing operations to counter the ridiculous with reason and fact—sometimes without effect.

In today’s episode of the Restaurant Rewind podcast, we look at some of the restaurant rumors that have taken hold over the years. What fueled such crazy reports, and why did they get traction at all?

Give a listen to some of the information nightmares big brands have been forced to counter. And if others occur to you, drop me a line at [email protected].