Long fancying itself an innovator in the crowded hamburger and french fry space, McDonald’s has unveiled a hifalutin new straw meant to alleviate the challenge of slurping up its newly announced Chocolate Shamrock Shake. The story behind McDonald’s new straw:
This limited-edition McDonald’s new straw is designed by a team of aerospace and robotic engineers. The Chocolate Shamrock Shake, one of four new seasonal McCafé beverages, has dual layers of delicious chocolate shake below Shamrock Shake. Additionally, to deliver the ideal flavour ratio of 50% chocolate and 50% mint in each sip, versus enjoying each flavour separately with a traditional straw, McDonald’s turned to highly-qualified engineering firms. JACE and NK Labs created the more-revolutionary-than-actually-needed Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal (the STRAW).
The design of the McDonald’s new straw
The scientists used their knowledge of physics to cut holes in the U-shaped McDonald’s new straw.
What sets the device apart from conventional straws is the sharp bend in its shape. Additionally, there are three eye-shaped holes to the opening at the bottom end. The extra holes are positioned in a way that allows drinkers to take a sip that’s equal parts mint layer and chocolate layer through the McDonald’s new straw.
“It was a puzzling assignment but one with an ambitious goal,” said Seth Newburg, Principal engineer and managing partner at NK Labs. “From a physics perspective, it’s actually quite difficult to deliver a proportional amount of both chocolate and mint flavours with each sip. But that’s exactly what we did. Moreover, it’s a marvel of fluid dynamics. Thanks to Fibonacci sequence.”
“We’re always listening to what our customers want and reinventing our menu in response,” said Darci Forrest, senior director of menu innovation. “And though it might sound silly to some, putting our guests first sometimes means re-thinking even the humble straw. We reached out to some of the brightest engineers in the country and asked for their help to create the ultimate shake-drinking experience.”
Regular old straws are no good for slurping down McDonald’s new Shamrock shakes. It takes “the McDonald’s new straw” to maximise the experience. So just give it a try and see if it really works!
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