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July 5, 2005 12:03 AM

Broken: Taco Bell sign

UpchargeNathaniel Kennedy writes:

Attached is a picture of a menu sign from a local Taco Bell in the Pittsburgh, PA area. The last item in the menu on the left struck me as funny. Maybe not so much broken as funny: there's a one-dollar "Per Breast Upcharge."

Comments:

that might not be a Taco Bell sign.

Posted by: badpenny at July 5, 2005 01:18 AM

No, that's not a Taco Bell sign, because if it was, it would say "Per Chi-Chi Upcharge $1.00".

Posted by: peglegpete at July 5, 2005 01:39 AM

The cup in the top right of the pic says KFC...

Posted by: Guido at July 5, 2005 02:04 AM

Interesting.... I think this isn't completely broken, just poorly worded. I would say instead "$1 Per Chicken Breast Piece".

Posted by: phil at July 5, 2005 02:39 AM

And why use a funny word like "Upcharge"?

Posted by: Why? at July 5, 2005 03:57 AM

Is is a Taco Bell/KFC in one kind of store. Theyr'e owned by the same parent company.

Posted by: Grey Hodge at July 5, 2005 04:02 AM

When I click on the picture, I see

‹mO=Oðӟq˜µͥꔠd ­R ‚€1-'8–}UZ`a񹽓󸾱~Xeo» ”Ԕ°{¾ޞ®€͐_+ĵ¶†כ쮋󰂧²UAˆ›{6 XIdbĮ낮¶Va3憑(H°t‡”cSk—.—£ŽAk•0©{U ™‹~œ*ªeº+[j9ŽŽNµ:™0’G‚9/ o6…}+NS0ž𲏐䖕:†誀󖊩¡Ʌ¨´򛧅‡²큋.£hd¿}0ɾ"ž;rŸ5”2)¯Ζ Ѝ/‹œ¤jmLQnƒ¼¦„ DZ£ŒGþ ?%􀚩œ¿²

Am I broken?

Posted by: DJM at July 5, 2005 04:36 AM

I also noticed the advert at the top of that sign declaring "Kitchen Fresh Chicken"

I must say, that doesn't stir up images of super fresh chicken, like say, "Farm fresh chicken" etc.

Seems a bit of a funny thing to say to me.

Posted by: David at July 5, 2005 05:21 AM

We have combined Taco Bell / KFC stores here in Australia - it was how they first introduced Taco Bell. Only lasted a few years though, I think most of the Taco Bells are closed now and the combined ones seem to have reverted back to just KFC.

Perhaps they should bring them back though, if only for that fabulous sign. :)

Posted by: Ando at July 5, 2005 05:36 AM

What's broken is the submitter posting this claiming its Taco Bell. Yes they are owned by the same parent company. They do have combo restaurants but no indication this one of them.

Blaming Taco Bell for this KFC sign would be equivalant to me calling AOL when my cable goes out.

Posted by: The Defiant Squirrel at July 5, 2005 08:25 AM

I thought "Per breast upcharge" was pretty funny, too, so I tried to think of a better way to word it ... "Extra breast $1.00": almost as bad. "Side breast $1.00": nope, even worse.

Awww, the heck with it. If I owned that restaurant I'd eat the "upcharge" myself just so I could put up a big sign that proclaimed, "FREE BREASTS!"

Posted by: E.T. at July 5, 2005 09:00 AM

/I also noticed the advert at the top of that sign declaring "Kitchen Fresh Chicken"/

That's part of their advertising campaign. Someone decided that "Kentucky Fried Chicken" conjuried up images of chicken swimming in grease, so they changed the acronym to mean "Kitchen Fresh Chicken" to get rid of that nasty word "fried" so they won't scare the dieters away. Because we all know the calories won't hurt you if you ignore them. Which is possibly also broken.

Posted by: SilvorMoon at July 5, 2005 10:27 AM

Im pretty sure that upcharge isnt a word, as surcharge means the same thing and no other word in english has 2 prefixes for the same word to mean the same thing.

Posted by: elite marksman at July 5, 2005 10:41 AM

wait does that sign mean if your a well endowed woman you have to pay $2 extra on your order.

/joking of coarse

Posted by: Vic at July 5, 2005 11:09 AM

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=upcharge

Yeah, looks like upcharge isn't a word.

Posted by: Chris at July 5, 2005 11:28 AM

The Burrito Not Taken

Two Pepsico franchises converged in a mall, and I--

I chose the upcharged meal,

And that has made all the difference.

Posted by: Sean at July 5, 2005 11:30 AM

You can see why this is the case, can you not? If you wish to replace a thigh, for instance, with a breast, then you must pay a dollar more. There is just not a better way to word it. It made sense to me. It's not the fault of the restaraunt that "breast" has both human and chicken connotations, and that you have a dirty mind.

Posted by: Jesse at July 5, 2005 11:36 AM

Sean...that was deep....fried.

Jesse...life's too short....learn to laugh.

Posted by: picklejuice at July 5, 2005 11:47 AM

Jesse: "Substitute Breast For Thigh - $1.00" seems clearer to me than what's there, as does "Substitute White Meat - $1.00".

It also saves using the word "upcharge" (or even "surcharge") to the customer, which lets them keep thinking about "Mmm, better chicken" instead of "Oh, that costs extra".

Posted by: rich at July 5, 2005 12:17 PM

The ad I dislike the most is Radio Shack's "You've got questions?", We've got answers!"

"You've" means "You Have" and "We've" means "We have." So, translated, this means "You have got questions?", "We have got answers!" Duh, did Radio Shack hire people who don't speak English or what? Why not: "You have questions, We have Answers?" Definitely broken.

Posted by: Steve at July 5, 2005 01:29 PM

I like the word "Attack" at the top of the menu. Is it an invitation or a warning? Broken.

Posted by: Sean at July 5, 2005 01:41 PM

According to Google upcharge is a word, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&oi=defmore&q=define:Upcharge. What's broken here is that this is a KFC sign and not a Taco Bell sign. Yeah, I know, others pointed it out but I might as well too.

Posted by: Jon at July 5, 2005 01:51 PM

According to Google upcharge is a word,

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&oi=defmore&q=define:Upcharge

What's broken here is that this is a KFC sign and not a Taco Bell sign. Yeah, I know, others pointed it out but I might as well too.

Posted by: Jon at July 5, 2005 01:53 PM

Sorry for the double post, Firefox crashed on me. What can I say, I'm impatient.

Posted by: Jon at July 5, 2005 01:55 PM

Firefox ... crashed? It's not infallible, like everyone keeps saying? Next you'll tell me it has unpatched security holes, too.

My illusions are shattered. Guess I'll keep using IE.

Posted by: E.T. at July 5, 2005 04:23 PM

I would know, since I live in the Pittsburgh area, that our Taco Bells are a combonation of either Pizza Hut or KFC.

Posted by: someone at July 5, 2005 05:47 PM

where i live they have a kfc / taco bell / pizza hut. i like to call i the kentaco hut

Posted by: asdjlklasd at July 5, 2005 06:02 PM

Heh heh heh heh heh, you said "breasts".

Posted by: Beavis at July 5, 2005 06:38 PM

Heh heh heh heh heh, you said "breasts".

Posted by: Beavis at July 5, 2005 06:40 PM

"The ad I dislike the most is Radio Shack's "You've got questions?", We've got answers!"

"You've" means "You Have" and "We've" means "We have." So, translated, this means "You have got questions?", "We have got answers!" Duh, did Radio Shack hire people who don't speak English or what? Why not: "You have questions, We have Answers?" Definitely broken."

You can't say "You've questions? We've answers!"

Posted by: qwerty at July 5, 2005 08:55 PM

Relating to the Firefox crash, yes it did crash for the first time since I've been using it since 0.9 Beta. And there is an unpatched exploit in Firefox, not so much a security hole relating to Firefox 1.0.2 and 1.0.4

http://www.internetweek.com/news/164301640

I apologize for getting off topic but I felt this should be dealt with.

Posted by: Jon at July 5, 2005 10:12 PM

JS can crash browsers like Firefox and Netscape(IE fixed the Problem).

Posted by: phil at July 5, 2005 10:29 PM

Speaking of Australia (Ando), KFC, and language breakdown, when I was in Australia a year ago, I went into a KFC and asked for a biscuit with my meal. I got a REALLY strange look from the girl at the counter, whom then told me they don't sell biscuits. What? No biscuits?! It's KFC for (whatever's) sake!! Then I realized that in AU, a 'biscuit' is a cookie. I didn't know how to explain myself, so I just left, feeling really stupid. (btw, Australia RULES!!)

Posted by: ambrocked at July 5, 2005 10:58 PM

steve:

before you complain, you might want to take note of the fact that the actual radioshack slogan is "You've Got Questions.

We've Got Answers."

They're not ASKING if you have questions, they're telling you that "you have got questions". seems okay to me.

Posted by: turtle at July 6, 2005 12:56 AM

Problem with radioshack is that so often they are clueless. The clerk I asked didn't even know what a double pole double throw switch was.

Posted by: Sean P at July 6, 2005 10:15 AM

I'm sorry, Mr. P, but I don't know what a double pole double throw switch is. Your point is completely lost on me.

Posted by: Bob at July 6, 2005 12:34 PM

I'm sorry, Mr. P, but I don't know what a double pole double throw switch is. Your point is completely lost on me.

Posted by: Bob at July 6, 2005 12:37 PM

/ The ad I dislike the most is Radio Shack's "You've got questions?", We've got answers!" /

Same goes for "You've Got Mail!" Why can't they just say "You Have Mail!"

/ You can't say "You've questions? We've answers!" /

Sure you can. It's completely grammatical.

Posted by: M at July 6, 2005 01:01 PM

/ You can't say "You've questions? We've answers!" /

Sure you can. It's completely grammatical.

It may be completely grammatical, but why don't you go around saying that to people? Because they would probably think you are retarded. There is a big difference between acceptable written language and spoken language.

Posted by: Who Me? at July 6, 2005 05:16 PM

A double pole double throw switch is a common electronics part, which a clerk in an electronics parts store should be able to identify.

Posted by: Sean P at July 6, 2005 06:59 PM

It's a switch that has two positions (double throw) and can control two diffrent circuts (double pole)

Posted by: Sean P at July 6, 2005 07:06 PM

Speaking of other countries and KFC... Tried to order mashed potatoes in Canada, was told they have the gravy but no mashed potatoes. Apparently the gravy (and cheese curds if desired) goes over your fries. Called Putine (pooh-teen).

Posted by: Shelly at July 7, 2005 01:22 PM

"It may be completely grammatical, but why don't you go around saying that to people? Because they would probably think you are retarded..."

Or English. "You've two pieces of mail in the box" is an everyday English construction.

Posted by: Sean at July 7, 2005 04:11 PM

Um, it IS a Taco Bell. Technically. My town used to have a Kentucky Fried Taco, too. It is obviously a Kentucky Fried Taco, but just on the KFC side of the menus.

Posted by: Chase B at July 7, 2005 07:03 PM

Hey, what about 'Let's' Let us? Tee-hee!

Steve, you're a moron. I'm sorry, but it's true. 'You've got' is acceptable English, if not perfectly correct English. Yes, some contranctions sound funny when you make them normal words, like my above example.

Posted by: Bob at July 8, 2005 09:40 AM

Contractions, sorry.

Posted by: Bob at July 9, 2005 11:17 AM

Implants, anyone?

Posted by: Tricky at July 10, 2005 03:43 PM

Something to keep in mind on trying to reword the sign--there's a limited amount of space. Trying to make it clearer might make it too long.

Posted by: Loren Pechtel at July 10, 2005 03:46 PM

Just a few points:

- Gravy over fries without cheese curds isn't poutine. It's 'fries and gravy'. Cheese curds are what makes it poutine. And mashed potatoes *are* available at *some* KFC's here... just not all.

- We also have the combined KFC/Taco Bell stores. We also have combined Wendy's/Tim Horton's (hamburger place + coffee/donut shop). In both cases the parent company is the same for both. In fact, I may be wrong, but I believe KFC/Taco Bell is actually owned by Coca-Cola.

- Radio Shack in Canada is now owned by Circuit City, and the name is changing to 'The Source by Circuit City'. No word on if they're going to continue carrying all those electronics parts it's hard to get anywhere else, or if they're going to go completely consumer-electronics.

Posted by: DaveTheCompGuy at July 10, 2005 04:35 PM

"where i live they have a kfc / taco bell / pizza hut. i like to call i the kentaco hut"

How about, "Taco Fried Pizza?"

Posted by: Seth Nelson at July 15, 2005 09:13 AM

I like the Kentaco hut idea. one of my friends, named Kenton, once had his name misspelled "Kento". He never did live it down.

Posted by: Sido at August 27, 2005 11:35 PM

Did anyone else notice that the '3 Pc. Leg, Thigh and Biscuit' is missing a piece of chicken? Can you pick a breast for the third piece of chicken and avoid the upcharge???

Posted by: Zoe at February 9, 2006 08:11 PM

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