Someone has discovered what the top of a McDonald’s French fry carton is actually for and people are losing their minds

Sometimes, something becomes so familiar that it’s impossible to look at it in any way other than what you’re already used to. Take a look at the hundreds of hack videos that rule the internet and it’s immediately obvious that we like nothing better than looking at the familiar and seeing someone do something nifty with it. Why it’s so satisfying, no one knows. We just all agree that we love it.

This is just as true for our food as it is for iphone cases, coat hangers, or any other collection of generally useless tut. Looking at a roast chicken is all well and good. It’s much more exciting when someone carefully balances it on a beer can and barbecues it. Given this, it isn’t exactly shocking that one man’s revelation about French fry cartons has managed to blow the whole world’s collective mind.

For many people who toddle into McDonald’s for a treat, something has always been baffling about the way the restaurant serves their French fries. Namely: why, for a business so concerned with wastage and saving money at every opportunity, would they bother building a little cardboard lip on top of the carton?

Obviously, you might argue, it’s to help employees shovel potatoes into the packet. But then why do other chains, like Burger King and Wendy’s, not bother with the feature, at least not to the same extent? When you dig below the surface, it becomes increasingly obvious that there’s more to the design than meets the eye. This is where the discovery from Twitter user @todayyearsoldig becomes truly game changing.

In a tweet posted on the 5th of January, this fast food hero blew the case wide open with his claim that the mysterious flap should actually be used as a surface for storing your condiments. The post, which featured an image demonstrating correct usage, quickly drew attention as more and more Twitterers expressed their incredulity that they hadn’t come to this realisation themselves.

Despite general enthusiasm from the internet, there were those who were less than enthusiastic about the new hack. One derisory user responded, “To accidentally catapult ketchup all over your nice clean shirt?” Another cast doubt on the entire claim, stating, “I think the high end of the box is meant for the workers to be able to grab the top without burning your fingers [with] freshly hot fries out from the deep fryer (scalding hot oil).” Despite their determination to rain on our parade, however, there seems to be little stopping the new hack.

Sometimes, being shown that there’s a better way to be using something that we take for granted can make us all feel like idiots. On other occasions, however, the discovery is so potentially monumental that you just have to sit back in admiration. This is surely one of those cases. Future food entrepreneurs: take note. All it takes is one pioneer to change the game for everybody.