McDonald’s over-engineered the straw so you can drink your Shamrock Shake
by Ashley Carman@ashleyrcarman Feb 15, 2017, 5:10pm EST
Shamrock Shake hype starts early for some. Who are you Shamrock Shake lovers? I’ve never cared about the McDonald’s shake timeline, but with age, I’ve realized that maybe the Shamrock Shake inspires you in the same way daylight saving time’s start reminds me that summer is coming.
McDonald’s is excited to ring in the new season with you all, too, and is definitely super excited to sell some shakes. So this year, the company funded the reengineering of the straw to lure you back. The company hired the same teams who worked on Google’s Project Ara (NK Labs and JACE Design). Their product, STRAW, which stands for Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal, is designed to perfectly mix both the chocolate and mint portions of the restaurant chain’s new dual-layer Chocolate Shamrock Shake. Apparently this was a secret menu item that’s now being released to everyone. We’re finally in on the cool people drink, y’all. It feels good.
These engineers and designers worked for months on this project, which resulted in a hooked, plastic straw with four holes, including one at the bottom. Fast Company did a deep dive on this straw. It’s a lot for a product developed to sell more milkshakes, but whatever, McDonald’s got me. Douse me in Shamrock Shakes. I’m ready.
The STRAW will be given out for free in 80 cities over the next few weeks, but it was only made in a limited-edition run of 2,000 units, so good luck out there.
