I have a long commute to work. Today, I started thinking about the size of the straw in my soft drink and some questions came up. Is the diameter of a straw something fast food companies actively decide? Or is it just an unimportant detail of the straw vendor they choose to use?
As I sipped my drink from KFC, I realized that the straw I was using seemed thinner than the ones you get at McDonald’s. That made me wonder whether I prefer thicker or thinner straws. On the one hand, getting more liquid-per-sip is a good feeling. On the other hand, it makes the drink go quicker. Are fast food joints making the decision to use thinner straws so that smaller portions seem to last longer? We know that the inclusion of large blocks of ice are used to displace the contents of a drink and make the cup appear to be full when it only is half filled with liquid. So the straw might be a similar tactic.
I’ve seen folks use three straws together to suck in more liquid from a soft drink. Some completely remove the straw from the equation and drink the “old fashioned” way. If you’re drinking “bubble tea” or a thick shake, a wider straw is a necessity.
So my question is, when consuming drinks that are served in covered containers, what is your preference? Do you like narrow, wide, or multiple straws? Or do you go straw-less? And what are your thoughts on the configuration of straw diameter at fast food establishments?
I tell you what, I cannot stand the big straws that sports bottles have. Too much swallowed air. BERRRRRRRRRRRRP. Also, I don’t like long straws neither. I likes them to stick out maybe 2-3 inches out from the lid, not some gangly-ass eye-poking fucker, nossir!
The worst straws are the ones you get at food court condiment stands, you know the two millimetre-wide ones that are over a foot tall, and you look like a tool trying to drink out of a can with one?
I love McDonald’s straws. Perfect diametre, and really durable. My Taco Bell/KFC straws always break on me.
For slushies I also like McDonald’s straws. I hate the usual slushie straws, which are either the five centimetres-wide ones with the thick walls, or the ones with the little retarded scoop at the end, which destroys any sucking you might actually achieve as the thing melts. Seriously, if you use that scoop, you you need a punch to the back of the head.
Back in the day, McDonalds was the place to get straws. Their shit was nice and wide so that you could actually use one with those thick-ass shakes they make. Get a shake from Burger Kang or something and the straw was basically useless. I used to grab handfuls of McDonalds straws to use at other places. It took forever for everyone else to catch on, although some still haven’t. AMPM has similar excellent straws for their fountain drinks.
Oh man. Recently I got an itch for “Strawberry Quik”. These days it’s called “Nesquick” and comes in a smaller box, but takes twice the amount of powder (2tblsp per cup) to make. After more than two decades of drinking 2% milk, I picked up a liter of whole milk and the box with the wacky bunny on it. The concoction wasn’t complete without inserting a bendy straw.
When I took that first sip, I was transported instantly to my childhood in a quiet suburb of Cleveland. It was like sucking down a melted strawberry sundae, but I loved every second of it.
Bendy straws were great when you’re a kid, not tall enough to reach the top of a straw jutting out into space. As an adult, they tend to be useless except for the nostalgia factor.
