A recent thread discussing the preperation of french fries, got me thinking about fast food, and I was wondering why fast food restaurants use those weird shaped cardboard boxes (with the exception of BoardWalk Fries which uses the more logical paper cup.) These cardboard boxes are simply impractical because they need to be rested against a foreign service in order for the fries to remain sanitary, whereas a cup can sit on the ground and the fries are fine.
Seems like only the places serious about fry-making (Boardwalk Fries, Great Steak & Fry Company, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, etc.) use the cups. My guess as to why the other places use boxes is that several empty boxes laid flat take up less room than several emptly cups stacked inside one another.