It started as a joke, but a Wendy's in Canada eventually began selling the nine-patty monstrosity known as the "T-rex" burger for real.

Nine years ago, Sports Illustrated published a joke ad inviting Wendy's customers to try the new T-rex at their local restaurant, and several people actually fell for it.

But one Wendy's in Brandon, Manitoba, decided to actually make the thing — and it caught on.

Since then, the restaurant has sold "two to three" 3,000-calorie T-rex burgers a day, according to the branch manager.

That is, until a real ad for the real T-rex burger was posted on Reddit this week, and the killjoys at Wendy's HQ decided to shut the whole thing down.

"For obvious reasons, Wendy’s of Brandon neither condones nor promotes the idea of anyone consuming a nine-patty hamburger in one sitting," said a browbeaten Wendy's employee of the Brandon store.

Meanwhile, Wendy's is also dealing with another Reddit-spurred "scandal" here at home.

In response to a photo of an employee consuming soft-serve ice cream straight from the Frosty machine, a spokesman for the company said the behavior was "totally inexcusable," adding that an investigation into the incident has been launched.

[H/T: Eater, LAist, photos via Reddit, screengrab via Google Street View]