Praise the Lord and pass the Big Macs -- all 2,311 of them

So there I was the other day, sitting at the Greencastle McDonald's, minding my own McBusiness, when suddenly I found myself in the midst of a feeding frenzy.

Big Macs to the right of me. Big Macs to the left of me. Haven't seen a run on burgers like this since the Legionburger building on Sunday night of the Putnam County Fair.

Seems my free McWrap-with-drink-purchase coupon thrust me smack dab in the middle of Big Mac Day in which the signature sandwich of McDonald's could be had for a paltry $1.15.

Guess I probably should have known there was something special other than the sauce on this day. After all, the guy in front of me, old enough to have seen the original commercials when the 45-cent sandwich debuted nationally in 1968, honestly asked the counter person: "What's on a Big Mac."

Not sure where I've heard this (note the sarcasm), but I'm pretty sure those legendary ingredients are: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."

I nearly sang it for the guy as the teenager behind the counter fumbled with naming the components, not even coming close to the proper order celebrated in that distinctive musical ditty.

Fighting back the urge to follow his lead and ask what's on a McWrap, I smiled to myself and carried my $1.07 lunch (large tea, free McWrap) to a high-top seat by the west windows.

There I put myself in the center of the action as Big Mac buyers carried off their $1.15 prizes in quest for comfortable seating, but not before passing judgment on my luncheon purchase.

"How come you're not eating a Big Mac?" asks the husband-and-wife teaching team as they passed.

"So where's your Big Mac?" questions a Cincinnati Reds fan decked out in team colors despite a then-losing steak of five games by his boys.

"What are you eating?" an old neighbor howls, looking at my lonely McWrap, sans all-beef patties, middle bun and sesame seeds.

Being chastised for not partaking of this Big Mac feeding frenzy like it was some national holiday, I can't resist poking back.

"What did your lunch cost?" I ask my former neighbor.

"Three dollars and 53 cents," he boasts, pursing his lips and waving a hand over his tray like some Vanna White proudly unveiling a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni.

Quickly mocking his response, I wave my hand over my tray.

"One dollar and seven cents," I boast.

He smiles and walks away, shaking his head.

But it leaves me wondering just how many Big Macs the Greencastle McDonald's served up that day.

The happy total, as reported by Jedele Enterprises Area Supervisor Bobby Hopper, was -- wait for it -- 2,311 Big Macs.

If you're keeping score at home, that's 4,622 all-beef patties and 6,933 pieces of sesame seed bun.

And at 550 calories apiece, that's a whopping 1,271,050 calories -- but who's counting?

Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits, as grandpa used to say, that's a lot of special sauce.

"People do love their Big Macs," Hopper assured us.

And those 2,311 came without a huge order from anyone, which makes that total even more impressive. It's not like Crown or Heartland or IAC ordered Big Macs for the entire second shift.

"I think the biggest order we had all day was 15," General Manager Paul Jedele said.

For a little perspective, consider that the Greencastle McDonald's routinely sells about 500 Big Macs daily. So the promotion (a "planned food event" and not a contest, incidentally) produced nearly five times the sales.

"The public really responded, what with Big Mac being the gold standard for McDonald's," Hopper noted. "It is the signature sandwich of McDonald's."

The goal of Big Mac Day -- which McDonald's promoted via social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, et al) instead of its customary, TV, radio and newspaper blitz advertising -- was to get people to try a Big Mac again and "remember what a great sandwich it really is," Hopper said.

Not sure how it played in Peoria but it obviously worked well in Greencastle.

The Greencastle store was No. 1 in the Jedele Enterprises stable (which also owns the McDonald's sites at Cloverdale, Mooresville, Hazelwood, Brazil I-70 and two Crawfordsville locations). Overall, those seven locations sold 8,490 Big Macs in that 10:30 a.m. to midnight period on April 15.

The big Big Mac effort has even produced residual effects.

"We have noticed that our Big Mac sales are up since then," Hopper said. "We've had great results. This brings back that golden product that maybe someone has forgotten about a bit. They try it and say, 'Hey, I like that sandwich,' and they remember that it's a good sandwich and a good value."

But how many remember the Big Mac had two previous names that flopped in the marketplace? "Aristocrat," which the public apparently found too tough to pronounce or understand, was the first attempt. Next came "Blue Ribbon Burger," which also failed to generate any meaningful sales.

But the name Big Mac, reportedly suggested by a 21-year-old advertising secretary who worked at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., stuck.

The rest is history. And that, my friends, is a McWrap.