Ronald McDonald, Frustrated Astronaut

We love a good edifying obituary, and the Wall Street Journal weekend edition rarely disappoints. Over the past weekend, we learned that Herb Peterson, the enterprising McDonald’s franchisee that in 1972 devised the Egg McMuffin, recently passed away at the age of 89. The story of Peterson’s eggs Benedict-inspired menu addition (the secret? cooking the egg using a stainless steel, Teflon-coated ring that made it precisely fit the muffin) was impressive, but we were more interested in writer Stephen Miller‘s inclusion of one of Peterson’s earlier achievements.