Want to go a whirlwind tour with stops in eight countries and three continents? You'll see plenty of history on this trip, but it might not be the kind you'd imagine. Dreamed up by Burger King, this trip will explore the history of the hamburger.

That's right. A whole trip centered around the burger. With stops in varied locations like Spain, Russia and Germany, the locations are certainly a traveler's dream. But the beloved hamburger certainly isn't a dream for your hips and thighs.

Ground-meat patties trace back to the days of Ghengis Khan, but there's some debate about when the patty met the bun. Many claim to be the inventors of the burger, and rather than debate who's hamburger hopped to first, let's cast a nutritional eye on the burgers we know:

• 1916 was when the original slider was born. By 1921, the steam-fried sliders moved from a trolley car to a castle ... White Castle, that is. They sold for a nickel back then. They cost more than a nickel now, and they'll also cost 140 calories and seven grams of fat each.
• Remember Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons? He made his debut in 1931. Notice that spinach-eating Popeye was "strong to the finish," whereas hamburger-eating Wimpy had a stomach that seriously strained the strength of his belt.
• McDonald's was founded in 1948 -- the 15-cent hamburger was the star of the menu. Today, those famous burgers each have 250 calories and nine grams of fat.
• Burger King was founded in 1954, but it was first known as Insta Burger King.
• In 1957, Burger King introduced the Whopper. Today's version has 670 calories and 40 whopping grams of fat.
• By 1958, McDonald's had sold 100 million hamburgers. Using today's calorie count, that adds up to 25,000,000,000 calories.
• The Big Mac debuted in 1968. Today, the Big Mac packs a big 540 calories and 29 grams of fat.
• Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's in 1969. Today's 1/4 pound single has 430 calories and 20 grams of fat.
• The Hamburglar was introduced in 1971. Burgers are tasty and all, but I'm not sure if they're worth stealing!
• Things got bigger with the Quarter Pounder in 1973. Today, the burger packs 410 calories and 19 grams of fat. Add cheese, and it's 510 calories and 26 grams of fat. Make that a double and it's up to 740 calories and 42 grams of fat.
• In the 1980s, Burger King's Whopper got bumped up to a third of a pound of meat. Eventually, they went back to the original size.
• In 1984, Wendy's asked "Where's the beef?" A successful (and funny) ad campaign, but a bit ironic because most burger chains had several options with a 1/4 pound of beef or more on the burger.
• In 2004, the low-carb craze hit burger chains. Many responded by offering burgers without a bun.