Ever since he was very young, when Evan would ask me one of those "difficult" questions about why things are certain ways in the world, my answer would be "It's all about marketing." Most of the time, my answer rang true. He has heard this line so often from me that I have even herad him say it to others.

Now, a STUDY has been done that shows that when kids see the McDonalds golden arches on food wrapping, they begin to salivate. Not only that, but they perceive that the food inside those wrappers tastes better than the same food inside plain wrappers.

Wow. Fascinating ... NOT!

McDonalds has worked hard for years to bring consistency to the product they deliver. While that product may not be haute cuisine, it does possess a certain predictability and consistency.

The fact that humans can resemeble Pavlov's dogs when they see something that they associate with this consistency is no surprise at all. The fact that salivation improves perceived taste is no surprise either.

Those who are interpreting this study are trying to make McDonalds out as being the evil empire because of what this study showed.

That is ridiculous. Who paid for this study? (The tree-kicking people from Wendy's perhaps?)

McDonald's simply has a well-branded, identifiable product and people associate that product with a taste which they crave and makes them salivate.

My grandmother's raisin cookies did the same thing.

Was she part of the evil empire?

McDonald's or Grandma ... It's all about consistency and branding.

Yes, Evan, once again, it's all about marketing.