What started as an internet joke turned into one of the web’s most unexpectedly famous tracking tools.

A software engineer created McBroken, a website designed to monitor which McDonald’s locations reportedly had broken ice cream machines in real time. The idea came from a long-running internet meme about customers constantly being told the machines were “down.”

Instead of relying on reports from users, the creator used publicly accessible ordering systems to detect when ice cream products became unavailable at specific locations. If certain menu items disappeared from the app, the system assumed the machine was likely not working.

The project exploded online because it tapped into something millions of people already joked about for years. Suddenly, what seemed like a random fast-food problem became visualized on a live map, turning frustration into entertainment.

As the site went viral, it even sparked wider conversations about the technology behind the machines and why they were reportedly so difficult to repair. At one point, the story became so big that it drew attention from regulators, franchise owners, and major media outlets.

What began as a joke became something much bigger:

A real-time internet platform built entirely around broken ice cream machines.