McDonald's Has Re-Engineered the Straw for Its Chocolate Shamrock Shake

A redesigned drinking straw is perhaps an unlikely thing to come out of the McDonald’s labs, but, nonetheless, that’s exactly what we have here with the STRAW. Short for “Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal,” the re-engineered STRAW is intended to accompany the fast food giant’s newly released Chocolate Shamrock Shake — a 50/50 combo of chocolate and mint milkshakes that’s long been available via the secret Mickey D’s menu — and was crafted with the help of both JACE Engineering and NK Labs. The resulting J-shaped design, which was fine tuned through a bevy of complex fluid dynamics simulations, alleviates the need to wait for the shake to melt a bit to mix the two flavors. Instead, multiple perfectly-placed holes in the STRAW allow you to enjoy both the chocolate and mint together, despite the layering of the two flavors.

The STRAW is currently limited to just 2,000 production models and will be available at select McDonald’s locations in the U.S. in the weeks ahead to those who order a Chocolate Shamrock Shake. Stay tuned to mcdonalds.com to find out where they’ll be available and expect a wider rollout down the road should they prove to be a success.