# Why Do Fast Food Restaurants Put Fries on Top of Napkins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853 "2017-06-13T11:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/1 "2017-06-13T11:38:18Z")
Almost every time I order food at a McDonalds or another fast food restaurant they put the french fries on top of the napkins they give me. Why in the world do they do this? For one thing it makes obvious how greasy the french fries are, for another, it gets my napkins all soaked with oil. There is already a paper tray liner down on the tray that will handle the fries just fine. Why do they do this? Arrrrgh!! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/2 "2017-06-13T11:47:24Z")
I have no idea what this means. McDonald’s puts their french fries in a cardboard or paper container, never on napkins. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/3 "2017-06-13T11:57:49Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/4 "2017-06-13T11:59:51Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I have no idea what this means. McDonald’s puts their french fries in a cardboard or paper container, never on napkins. I believe the reference is to dining in, where most of your food will be laid out on the tray directly on top of the liner, but the french fries (within their container) will often be laid on top of whatever napkins you’re given. The answer, I think, is because that’s usually the only food you’re ordering that is “exposed” (meaning, not completely contained in a wrapper), and some people might not want to eat fries directly off the tray. Since laying the fry container flat is inevitably going to lead to some spillage, the idea is that you might still be OK eating fries off of a (presumed to be) clean napkin, instead of eating food that has been in direct contact with the tray liner (ETA: or, God forbid, the tray itself). ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/5 "2017-06-13T12:00:18Z")
Yes they do put their fries in a cardboard container but then they put that down on your tray with the open part on top of the napkins, (At least in my experience most of the time). And that make the napkins all greasy and and also advertises the oiliness of the french fries. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/6 "2017-06-13T12:01:43Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. Damn man! I thought I had done good putting this in IMHO instead of General Questions. Oh well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/7 "2017-06-13T12:04:02Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > and also advertises the oiliness of the french fries. Are you afraid other diners will discover you’re eating fatty foods? Or is it that you don’t want to be reminded how much fat is in fries? I must say I have trouble understanding this part of your complaint. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/8 "2017-06-13T12:06:18Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I believe the reference is to dining in, where most of your food will be laid out on the tray directly on top of the liner, but the french fries (within their container) will often be laid on top of whatever napkins you’re given. > > The answer, I think, is because that’s usually the only food you’re ordering that is “exposed” (meaning, not completely contained in a wrapper), and some people might not want to eat fries directly off the tray. Since laying the fry container flat is inevitably going to lead to some spillage, the idea is that you might still be OK eating fries off of a (presumed to be) clean napkin, instead of eating food that has been in direct contact with the tray liner (ETA: or, God forbid, the tray itself). That’s a pretty good answer. It’s just that I consider the paper liner to be a “clean” disposable surface just as I do the napkins. But I want the napkins to be clean and oil free to wipe my face, etc. so I’d like the paper liner to be the surface that handles the french fry spillover. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/9 "2017-06-13T12:08:21Z")
So whatever grease is being soaked up by the napkins is grease you’re not eating, which is surely a good thing, right? I think you need to rethink your position on this one. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/10 "2017-06-13T12:12:13Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Are you afraid other diners will discover you’re eating fatty foods? Or is it that you don’t want to be reminded how much fat is in fries? I must say I have trouble understanding this part of your complaint. Touche! I care not about others knowing I am eating greasy fries. I simply don’t need the fry grease on my napkins. I want to use the napkins to clean up messes on my face and hands. Why would a restaurant “pre-soil” the napkins by putting greasy french fries on top of them? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/11 "2017-06-13T12:22:13Z")
OK. Side note (or hijack if you will). You know how sometimes OP’s will react in amazement at how someone on the SDMB will answer so quickly to an esoteric question (say for example like who was the first person to use a protractor?) Well, my post wasn’t so esoteric, but I’m floored by how many folks have chimed in within minutes of my posting the question! Let that be an answer to the recent poster who was worried about the decline of the number of registered users here. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/12 "2017-06-13T12:22:23Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Almost every time I order food at a McDonalds or another fast food restaurant they put the french fries on top of the napkins they give me. In decades of eating at McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants, I never saw this, rendering the OP moot. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/13 "2017-06-13T12:23:46Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > So whatever grease is being soaked up by the napkins is grease you’re not eating, which is surely a good thing, right? > > I think you need to rethink your position on this one. 😛 YES! But why does it have to be on the things I 'll use to wipe my mouth with? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/14 "2017-06-13T12:26:09Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > YES! But why does it have to be on the things I 'll use to wipe my mouth with? They have more napkins available, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/15 "2017-06-13T12:27:47Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > YES! But why does it have to be on the things I 'll use to wipe my mouth with? Over here, you got yer fry napkins. And over here, you got yer face napkins. DON’T CROSS THE STREAMS! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/16 "2017-06-13T12:27:51Z")
That’s what your sleeve is for! Or your tie, if you’re a dandy. … ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/17 "2017-06-13T12:29:19Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > In decades of eating at McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants, I never saw this, rendering the OP moot. Really? Maybe it’s dependent on individual restaurants. But in my experience it happens more times than not. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/18 "2017-06-13T12:32:33Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They have more napkins available, you know. Yes, yes, I know. I don’t have any trouble cleaning up after myself. It’s just always struck me as odd. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/19 "2017-06-13T12:36:00Z")
Look, if you’ve entered a McDonald’s restaurant without first devising an adequate grease-management strategy then I’m afraid it’s all on you\*. \*SWIDT? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853/20 "2017-06-13T12:41:16Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Look, if you’ve entered a McDonald’s restaurant without first devising an adequate grease-management strategy then I’m afraid it’s all on you\*. > > \*SWIDT? Oho!!! And now, to get back to a completely different beef I have ( about mysterious acronyms), what does SWIDT mean? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-fast-food-restaurants-put-fries-on-top-of-napkins/788853.md?page=2)