AP Photo / Black Bear Casino Resort

September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day. Why is today of all days the one in which we celebrate this American staple? Maybe it’s a last hurrah for Summer before pumpkin-flavored everything takes over? I don’t know about you, but we at Dailymotion need ZERO reason to eat, drink, or party.

Unless you’re a foodie, you’ve probably just assumed that cheeseburgers have been around since the dawn of time. It pains me to think there was a day on this planet when burgers went un-cheesed, but seeing as T-Rexes had lil’ baby arms, I can understand the delay.

According to Wikipedia, adding cheese to hamburgers became popular in the late-1920s to mid-1930s. A fine, young gentleman by the name of Lionel Sternberger was unofficially credited with inventing the cheeseburger in 1926 at the age of 16. I’m sure a debate rages somewhere online about whether his act was intentional or not, but I’d have to guess it was done of teen-angst-ridden spite.

The Los Angeles restaurant O’Dell’s was one of the first establishments to offer a cheeseburger on a menu in 1928. Kaelin’s Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, claimed it invented the cheeseburger in 1934. Meanwhile, the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado was awarded the trademark for the word a year later just beating out Steak ‘n Shake, which applied for one in the ’30s.

In our ‘user-friendly,’ customizable, customer-comes-first cultural landscape of today, a simple cheeseburger can still hit the spot, but we now have an array of options – type of cheese, cheese on bun, cheese IN burger, ostrich or bison burger, soy cheese – some of which can inflate the cost to $666. We’ll need to start a savings account for that offering. For now, we show our love with 5 of the juiciest cheeseburger-related videos to whet your appetite. Napkins not included.

1. Battle Royale … with Cheese

Over the years, it seems dogs and cats have really worked on their relationship to better co-exist. But, put a cheeseburger between them and the gloves come off. I still don’t understand how cats win at all. Sure, they have speed, agility, etc. But it’s like watching a flyweight fight Mike Tyson.

2. Pizza Hut Ups The Ante

There are two trends among fast food joints – 1) countering claims that your offerings are too unhealthy by offering low-calorie, low-fat alternatives and 2) blow the lid off the calorie counter with monster menu items that challenge the competitive eater in all of us. Pizza Hut loves to go the latter route – throwing up Hail Mary meals that one way or another will make you throw up. Sign me up.

3. Build a Burger Like a Boss

If I ever hit the lotto, I’m hiring Epic Meal Time to be my personal chefs. Every time I’d eat, it would be an event – and we’d need to have medical staff on hand to supervise.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MORE EPIC MEALS

4. It’ll Make People Risk Their Lives

Cooking show host Paula Deen is no Epic Meal Time, but she does love to pump fat and sugar into her recipes. She came under scrutiny for failing to reveal she has type-2 diabetes to her viewers then was seen knocking back a cheeseburger. Pretty much the definition of YOLO, right?

5. You’ll Develop the Ability to Rap

The odds of this order coming out right are a million to one, but as long as there’s cheese and meat somewhere in that bag, it’s all good. My guess is they’ll forget the fries. If I’m working the drive-thru and this dude spits hot fire three times in a row, that’s a free cheeseburger. Now, the most inventive drive-thru stunt we have going is coning. Lame sauce.

***

Neal is the Editor of Dailymotion’s Sports, Comedy, and Viral Channels.