McDonald's Hamburger Straws Are Japans's Latest Viral Food

Most of the offerings at McDonald's Japanese outlets veer towards the pretty. The cherry blossom and melon-flavored floats seem made for Instagram, after all. But the latest trend is more perturbing that photogenic.

This one isn't an officially sanctioned Mickey D's creation. No, it's a DIY hack that has diners spearing burgers onto their drinks. And it's giving McD's fans a lot of questions.

According to Cosmopolitan, the new trend may draw from this year's viral donut-atop-a-coffee-drink phenomenon, which has a lot of logic going for it compared to this burger trick. Instead of a donut, which has a pre-made hole fit for a straw, eager customers are impaling their burgers atop their drinks, which presumably leaves tiny bits of bun, beef, and condiments in their beverages. Kotaku translated the Japanese 'grams and discovered that the trend is called the "drink x hamburger" as well as "hamburger straw."

Not only does it seem unappetizing to some observers, it doesn't make it any easier to go hands-free the way the donut trend did. Whereas donuts have big holes, it could be tough to slide a burger — or even a Big Mac or McChicken — down a straw since the hole would be tiny and all the layers would have to line up exactly.

While it's undeniable that a burger sitting atop a soda or milkshake makes for a pretty cute photo, it's just not practical when it comes to actually eating. And while it's fine to compose an Instagram-worthy food shot once in a while, most of the time, the food seems pretty edible. This time around, it's purely for looks, which may defeat the whole purpose.

Of course, no McDonald's food is safe from the straw treatment. Hamburgers are the most common variant, but it looks like breakfast fanatics are spearing their McMuffins, too. It's clear that no sandwich is safe.