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An OG McDonald's character, Grimace, turned 52 on Jun. 12.

For the confused Gen Z out there, this is Grimace.

In honour of his birthday, McDonald's USA released a limited edition milkshake in his namesake.

Grimace shake

The Grimace milkshake comes as part of the new Grimace's Birthday Meal, which offers a choice of a Big Mac or 10 Piece Chicken McNuggets, along with a side of fries.

McDonald's didn't deign to reveal what flavour the Grimace shake is.

It's just marketed as a "purple milkshake".

According to a very reliable food critic, TheReportOfTheWeek, the Grimace shake "definitely has a very unique flavour", with a "distinct sweetness" and a vanilla base.

The YouTuber also remarked that the drink has a potent "raspberry" note, but he wouldn't go as far as to call it a raspberry milkshake.

Since we can't actually get our hands on the shake here in Singapore, we're just going to have to take his word for it.

While Grimace might no longer have as strong a presence in the local McDonald's, we can at least pay tribute to the guy by shedding some light on his lore.

Grimace history

Grimace first came to life in 1971 when he appeared in "McDonaldland", a series centered around Ronald McDonald and his adventures in a fantasy universe.

The purple blob debuted as an antagonist, Evil Grimace, who stole people's milkshakes and drinks, but later received a redemption arc and shed the "Evil" part of his name and personality.

He became better known as one of Ronald's buddies.

“The original Grimace was scaly, mean-looking, had four arms, and had no charm whatsoever,” McDonald's former vice president of advertising Roy T. Bergold Jr. told QSR.

The company rebranded him as a "soft, plush, two-armed blob of a sweetheart" who loved milkshakes and hanging out with Ronald, so that he would be less likely to give children nightmares.

Grimace survived the culling of "McDonaldland" members in 1980, when the brand was looking to streamline its characters.

He made it all the way to the end of the "McDonaldland" commercials in 2003, reported the American TV show, Today, on their website.

From then on, however, Grimace seemingly retired from public appearances.

Until his birthday when he took over the McDonald's social media accounts, resulting in such quality content.

What exactly is Grimace?

The years have seen much debate and speculation over what Grimace actually is.

it's always "what is Grimace" and never "how is Grimace"

— McDonald's (@McDonalds) September 8, 2021

One popular theory is that Grimace is a tastebud.

In 2021, the manager of a McDonald's in Canada told CBC, "[Grimace] is an enormous taste bud, but a taste bud nonetheless.”

McDonald's has not confirmed this.

Refusing to give a straight answer, a McDonald's spokesperson told People that the beauty of Grimace was in his enigmatic nature.

“Whether he’s a taste bud, a milkshake or just your favorite purple blob — the best part about Grimace is that he means different things to different people. Whatever he is, we’re just proud our bestie makes people happy."

Another throwback article

Top images via McDonald's