The UFO-shaped McDonald’s in New Mexico, US
A McDonald’s in the shape of a UFO is fitting for Roswell, a town known for its rumored alien sightings and extraterrestrial encounters.
The town became popular in 1947 when a mysterious aircraft, which the local newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, identified as a “flying saucer,” crashed into a ranch. Then, in 1980, Stanton Friedman, a former nuclear physicist, came across the 1947 news story and alleged it to be an alien spacecraft, sparking widespread outcry.
Government records later showed the aircraft was a top-secret government surveillance balloon used to detect echoes of Soviet nuclear-testing blasts.
But by then, people were convinced the government was hiding information about alien life, and UFOs had become a mini-industry with several themed attractions, such as the annual UFO festival and a museum, spread across town.
In 2005, a few miles from the crash site, McDonald’s opened a restaurant shaped like a spaceship with neon lights.
But He loves the restaurant for more than just its exteriors.
“It has a gift shop,” he said, adding, “I mean, it’s cool looking, but they have merchandise, which I think is super cool.”
The gift shop features Ronald McDonald in a spacesuit and alien statues.
