SMILE 'WIDE'

'Billions And Billions' Brainwashed: The 'Happy Meal' Turns 30

AS COINCIDENCE WOULD HAVE IT, CRABBY ENJOYED A CHEESEBURGER HAPPY MEAL a mere hour before discovering that the three-piece children's McDonald's meal is turning 30!

Why it seems like yesterday that we were introduced to the simple burger, fries and small coke in 1979. The meal was an ingenius plot by McDonald's to hold psychological sway over the most suspectible of consumers. And it's worked!

Anyone ever in the company of a child just beginning to utter recognizable sounds knows that "McDonald's!" is one of the first words uttered by America's youth.

According to Retro YouTube, "The Happy Meal was the brainchild of St. Louis, Missouri advertising manager Dick Brams, who in 1977 contracted Kansas City-based advertising firm Bernstein-Rein to develop a children's meal item that would promote McDonald's as a restaurant for families, specifically those with smaller children."

But AOL's ParentDish points out, "It's not the box -- or the food -- that makes the Happy Meal iconic. It's the toys."

Proving that people will collect anything, an 11-year-old British boy sold his 7,000-piece collection of Mickey D's promotional items for $11,000 earlier this year.

The meal's most popular toy was Teenie Beanie Babies, first distributed in 1997 according to ABC News. The tiny stuffed toys ignited Beanie Babymania.

The most amusing account of Happy Meal history comes from YouTube's Liquid Generation, who compiles the 10 "lamest" Happy Meals ever offered.

Crabby admits that she has some mini Madame Alexander witches in her glove compartment, and maybe even a mini Ronald and McBurglar collecting dust above a kitchen cabinet. But most of the toys are returned to the drivethru before pulling away.

My favorite thing about the Happy Meal? It's doesn't beg for "supersizing!" When the boxed meal debuted in 1979 only 4.2 percent of American children were obese; today that number is 17percent.

Hey, Mickey D, here's a possible growth industry for you: healthier choices and smaller portions. If you did that, I'd be 'loving it.'