For years, we who partake in fast food have been stuck with a dilemma when it comes to dunking our fries in ketchup: We'd have to empty the packet onto the paper on the tray. Or put it on a napkin that may have already been touched by lord knows who. Tasty, tasty way to catch H1N1 perhaps!?
Thankfully, the good people at Heinz have--after 30 years--heard our plea. They have redesigned the ketchup packet, and there shall be much rejoicing in the streets.
The new packet can be opened in not one, but two ways. The end can be torn away so the ketchup can be a topping on, say, a burger (or Cap'n Crunch, if that's your thing). But the really cool part is that the other end rips away to create a dunking container for fries, one of the most popular applications for ketchup.
Seattle ketchup enthusiast Jonathan Fuchs told me he loves the new design. "This is progress," he said. "I think the world is becoming a better place."
Maybe it's not the most radical of designs--McDonald's has had dunking containers for its McNuggets for years--but it is noteworthy that a corporation like Heinz looked at the design of one of its best-known products and determined it was time for a redesign.
It's good to know that my children will never know a world where you have to smear ketchup on a napkin to enjoy your fries.