The ‘Burger King Rock’ In Gastonia Is Both Hilarious And Ridiculous

Gastonia has been my home for many years. I was born here, went to middle school and high school here, and currently I live here. Folks in North Carolina often make fun of Gastonia, and those of us that live here usually aren't offended. There are a lot of crazy things that happen here. One of the most hilarious and ridiculous things in G-town is the 'Burger King Rock' on Union Road.

My apartment isn't too far from the Burger King on Union Road. It's close to the CVS I go to, and the Aldi and Lidl I frequent. Fast food isn't my go-to, and I'm not even sure that I've eaten at the BK on Union, but the 'rock' is now so popular it has its own Facebook page. The 'rock' has over 2,000 followers!

The restaurant is on the corner of Union Road and Hudson Road in Gastonia. When you go through the drive-thru, there's a concrete median on the right-hand side. When you're leaving the drive-thru, the median area has a large rock at the end of it. For whatever reason, numerous drivers that are turning right out of the drive-thru into the parking lot area get stuck on this rock. It's happening so often that the restaurant painted the rock a bright yellow, so that folks will see it.

Sadly, the bright yellow rock isn't standing out to some folks. How they aren't seeing it, I have no idea. But the rock seems to be 'attacking' many cars. People driving are getting their cars stuck ON the rock! Numerous photos on social media are showing different cars stuck on top of the rock. Looking at the pictures, it's hard to understand how folks aren't seeing it, but they're not!

Scrolling through the 'rock's' Facebook page, you see lots of different vehicles actually stuck on top of the rock! Many of the vehicles seem to be small SUV's. Now, I don't want to throw my self under the bus here, but I'll admit that I've hit a curb while driving my small SUV/hatchback car. As a short person, I can only see so much while driving! LOL! I think I've hit a curb twice in the last few years. However, I haven't hit the 'Burger King rock'.

Hitting the curb is one thing but hitting the infamous 'rock' is another! Folks ending up on top of the rock are getting a tow-truck has to come and help them remove their cars. It's too funny! In addition to the funny pictures, the comments on the 'rocks' Facebook page are classic! People just don't understand how this keeps happening.

As dumb as it is, you can't help looking at all the different cars that are 'victims' of the rock. If you need a giggle and a break from work, check out the Facebook page. Good stuff!

People love to knock chain restaurants, especially the fast food variety, but we all have our favorites. Call it a "guilty pleasure," but sometimes you just get an overwhelming urge to pull into a drive-thru and order up a sack full of greasy goodness. Sure, your doctor wouldn't approve but it's not like you this every day. Or maybe you do. I'm not here to judge.

So what are your favorite chain restaurants? Money talks, right? The Top 500 Countdown has just come out from Nation’s Restaurant News, revealing the top chain restaurants in the country based on their sales performance last year. They compiled sales figures of the 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S. for 2022.

Say what you will about the Golden Arches, but they still bring it. McDonald’s was America's top restaurant chain in 2022 with $48.67 billion in U.S. sales last year. Mickey D's has been on top for years and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Starbucks, its next closest competitor, only did $ 27.5 billion in sales for 2022. Chick-fil-A comes in third with $18.81 billion, Taco Bell is fourth with $12.92 billion, and Wendy's rounds out the top-five with $11.69 billion in sales.

As for the pizza wars, Domino’s continues to dominate and had $8.57 billion in sales in 2022. It’s also the 10th highest-earning chain overall. Pizza Hut is 13th overall with $5.27 billion in sales, Little Caesars is 16th with $4.72 billion, and Papa John’s is 26th with $3.71 billion.

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $8.57 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $8.63 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $9.19 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $10.28 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $11.28 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $11.69 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $12.92 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $18.81 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $27.5 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $48.67 Billion