In the late 1890s, a drifter named Ronald McDonald toured county fairs across the Midwest with a tent he called the “Happy Meal.” He wore a dark red suit, black waistcoat, white gloves, and a painted smile so wide it looked like it cut into his cheeks. Admission was free for children. Inside his tent, the light was dim and the air smelled of sweet bread and varnish. Each child received a small red paper box with a yellow emblem on the side—a bun, a slice of cold meat, a carved wooden toy, and a card that read: “Eat up. Come back tomorrow.”Parents saw nothing wrong. But children walked out pale and silent. Some refused to eat. Some wouldn’t speak at all. By the end of the summer, 16 children had vanished from the towns where his tent appeared. When the law finally searched his wagon, they found it empty—except for red paint, yellow cloth, and stacks of unused boxes.A decade later, an advertising company in Chicago bought an old fairground poster for inspiration. They kept the name. They kept the colors. They kept the smile. Since then, every time you’ve seen that clown grin, you’ve been staring at the face of a legend built on missing children.

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