Burger King is a fast-food restaurant franchise that, along with McDonald's, has come to typify the U.S. "hamburger chain" concept that saw thousands of identical outlets spring up along the nation's highways after World War II and, later, in cities and towns from coast to coast and around the world. With its orange-and-white signs, Burger King, the "Home of the Whopper," was founded in Miami in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton. Its first hamburgers were sold for 18 cents, and its flagship burger, the Whopper, was introduced in 1957 for 37 cents. Opened a year before rival McDonald's was franchised, Burger King was the first among the fast food drive-ins to offer indoor dining. By 1967, when the Pillsbury Corporation bought the company, there were 274 Burger King restaurants nationwide, employing more than 8,000 people. As of the end of 1998, there were 7,872 restaurants in the United States and 2,316 in more...