Like the dinosaur itself, the “T-Rex” burger at Wendy’s is extinct. But also like the dinosaur, we can marvel at its awesomeness.

The burger was offered at only one Wendy’s, in Brandon, Manitoba. It was constructed of nine quarter-pound patties. How did the monster burger come to be? This was a case of life imitating art — as in advertising art.

Barb Barker, office manager for the group that owns the Brandon franchise, told ABCNews.com: “Wendy’s corporate put out a tongue-in-cheek ad in Sports Illustrated eight or 10 years ago with a picture of the ‘T-Rex’ burger. Customers liked it and requested it, and we obliged, given that we’re in the customer service business.”

Customers would order the mega-burger two or three times a day, Barker said, and sometimes one person would polish it off. But as these things will — even from Manitoba — news reached the Internet. Corporate higher-ups decided the “T-Rex” wasn’t a good idea.

“We have removed the image from our store,” Barker said.  “Wendy’s is not condoning or endorsing that a person eat nine meat patties in one sitting.”

At least not without cutting back by ordering just a small Frosty to go with it.

H/T: Reddit

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AT&T has been producing a delightful series of “It’s not complicated” commercials with a suit-and-tie-clad moderator presiding over groups of wonderfully uninhibited kids answering questions about doing two things at once or whether faster is better than slow or bigger is better than small.

The moderator’s name is Beck Bennett, and he tells E! News that those spots are just kids being kids. The commercials have scripts, but they almost never use them.

“It’s pretty much all improvised,” Bennett said. “They start with the basic questions … and each one of those principles has one or two scripts, just in case, because you want to have a safety in case these kids don’t say something fun or interesting. But they always do.”

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The fur was flying over some fake stuff that turned out to be real.

Nieman Marcus and two other retailers have settled with the Federal Trade Commission — which may mean fines — because they were selling faux fur coats that actually contained real fur. Nieman Marcus, known for selling upscale products at its department stores, also used mink in what were labeled as rabbit-fur products and didn’t follow regulations for disclosing which country some fur came from.

The FTC did not announce the amount of any fines for Nieman Marcus or the other companies. So how were they disciplined? After all, there is more than one way to skin a, um, whatever it is you’re skinning.

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Remember that “Seinfeld” episode about the nonfat frozen yogurt that turned out not to be nonfat? Sort of the same thing happened with a New Jersey bakery, though without Newman and a table-ful of postal workers or Kramer turning the charm on a lab worker.

Butterfly Bakery in Clifton, N.J., had to shut down production because the Food and Drug Administration found that its sugar-free and fat-free muffins contained sugar and fat. The FDA discovered that Butterfly’s blueberry muffins contained 360 percent more saturated fat than indicated on the labeling, and the chocolate chip muffins had 444 percent more saturated fat than labeled.

While Butterfly works to come into compliance with the FDA, the company said, hey, we were only lying about three of our 45 products.

“Butterfly Bakery wants to assure all of its customers that we take continuous pride in the integrity of our products while practicing good manufacturing and ensuring the safety and quality of our products,” the company said in a statement.

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In two food-related items Monday, we pass these along:

*McCormick is commemorating the Ravens’ Super Bowl victory with a limited edition Old Bay can decked out in Ravens purple with the team’s logo. The cans will be yellow and purple instead of the normal yellow and blue, and plans are to make 30,000 of them. You can buy the special cans at the following retailers: Food Lion, Giant, Harris Teeter, Mars, McCormick World of Flavors, Shop Rite, Wegmans and Weis.

Our suggestion: Buy one for yourself and one for that guy at the office who’s a Steelers fan. Leave the can on his desk. He’ll be torn between the mortification of again having the Ravens’ triumph waved in his face and feeling unable to throw the can away because, well, who doesn’t like the taste of Old Bay?

*Berger Cookies are back. The Sun is reporting that the Berger bakery, shut down since Jan. 31 for lacking a food-service license from Baltimore, received its license last week and again started to crank out the chocolate-drenched local favorites. However, it may take a while for all of the cookie outlets to be restocked, the report said.

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Once upon a time, Under Armour asked — actually, more like demanded — that we “protect this house.” In its marketing campaign launched this week, the Baltimore-based performance athletic gear manufacturer is saying, “I will.”

Under Armour will debut an “I will” commercial on Saturday during TNT’s NBA All-Star Weekend coverage. The spot features Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker, top 20 women’s tennis player Sloane Stephens and boxing champion Canelo Alvarez.

Here’s the commercial:

The company is highlighting its Armour39, a digital performance monitoring system that launches next month.

“This is a training product,” Mark Oleson, director of innovation and research for Under Armour, told CNET. “It sets itself apart by measuring athletic performance.”

Armour39 can be linked to Android devices, and it will retail at $149.99.

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When last we mentioned the Monopoly token vote, it appeared the boot was in big trouble. But when the final results were announced Wednesday, there was a new wrinkle.

Actually, there will be lots of new wrinkles, because the iron is gone.

Hasbro, the game’s maker, said that the iron got the fewest votes in a poll on the eight tokens conducted via Facebook. A late surge apparently saved the boot and the wheelbarrow. But those two also had the benefit of a social media push to save them, Hasbro said, with online shoe retailer Zappos and garden-tool maker Ames True Temper advocating for their appropriate tokens.

Did no one speak up for the iron?

In the vote for a new token, the cat scratched out top honors. This, of course, threatens to disrupt future Monopoly games whenever the Scottie dog and the cat land on the same square.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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In Tuesday’s paper, we talked to some local caterers about how they are “Ravens-izing” their menus for the Super Bowl.

But you can also up your game for the big game from the comfort of your own home thanks to the good folks at McCormick & Co.

Their website features a plethora of Super Bowl recipes, including cookies for both the Ravens and 49ers fans in your life.

Lest you think the Sparks-based spice giant is not behind the hometown team, the site also features prominently the recipe for Baltimore Purple Beer.

A little McCormick purple dye, a little McCormick blue dye, a 12-ounce, light-colored beer and follow these directions:

Gently stir food colors into beer. Serve immediately.

If anyone needs a taste tester, we’re happy to help.

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Reacting to the new tax realities in the country, golfer Phil Mickelson seemed to indicate he may play less golf or move from his home state of California.

“Well, it’s been an interesting off-season, and I’m going to have to make some drastic changes,” Mickelson said over the weekend. “And I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes.

“If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and the state, my tax rate is 62, 63 percent. I’ve got to make some decisions on what I am going to do.”

Mickelson apparently has overestimated by about 10 percent, but his tax bite will be going up. That includes an extra 3 percent because of a California increase on rich guys like Mickelson.

And he is a rich guy. Mickelson made a reported $44 million in endorsements last year, in addition to his official PGA Tour earnings of $4.2 million. If he wants to keep more of those big bucks, as Forbes points out, he should consult one of his sponsors. If you follow golf at all, you know Mickelson usually is wearing a cap bearing the logo of KPMG, the accounting firm.

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Save the roadster.

That’s what AAA Mid-Atlantic is urging people to do. AAA — which, after all, has “automobile” in its name — has entered the fray as Hasbro, maker of Monopoly, has launched a campaign to let the public decide which of the game pieces will live to continue passing “go” and collecting $100 and which one will be relegated to the board-game mists of time.

In other words, the piece with the fewest votes ends up in jail permanently, dropped from Monopoly. (You can vote here.)

Ragina C. Averella, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, presents a logical argument for making sure the car stays in the game:

“Without the race car, how else are you going to get to the shore?” which references the game board’s roots in Atlantic City, N.J. “The race car is the only automotive token in the Monopoly game. Millions of motorists will be heartbroken if it disappears. Imagine playing the game and not getting to be the race car. It would be a crushing disappointment to everyone who dreams of getting behind the wheel as they race around Park Place.”

The thing is, AAA need not worry. Though the results won’t be announced until next month, the car is so far safely near the top, in second place behind the Scottie dog. The boot — which has always looked as if it had been lost and left outside in the rain for a week — is near the bottom and in big trouble.

And Hasbro has accomplished its goal, getting us actually talking about Monopoly.

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