Happy

A true icon of American pop culture made it's debut in June of 1979:  McDonald's Happy Meal.  It's hard to imagine going to the Arches without seeing the latest product tie-in being used to pimp fast food to the little ones. Commonly blamed for contributing to childhood obesity rates, the Happy Meal was even banned in San Francisco for their use of toys, although Mickey D's kinda found a way around it.

Interestingly, while obesity rates in children have skyrocketed, from 4.2% in 1979 to 17% in 2006, the calories in a typical Happy Meal have dropped from 600 in '79 to to 375 today.  But let's face it, the toys and the notion of "fun" (enhanced by a "Playland" or "Playplace") are all designed to sell burgers and fries--  and not just to the kids.  Parents' waistlines have been expanding, too.  So for all you moms and dads out there who've suffered the "pester power" used by kids to get happy, you can point to 1979 as when it all started.