July 24 is Drive-Thru Day

Today is National Drive-Thru Day. It's reason to celebrate milk shakes, mochas, dry-cleaning, liquor, cigarettes, medication, and every other item modern drive-throughs offer.

"We wanted to pay homage to this modern convenience," said Kathleen Finn, spokeswoman for San Diego, Calif.-based Jack in the Box, which sponsored the first National Drive-Thru Day in 2002.

The dictionary spells the term "drive-through," although most businesses use the term "drive-thru."

Finn said Jack in the Box, which has had drive-through locations since its opening in 1951, does 65 percent of its business by drive- through.

The restaurant does not have any Colorado locations.

The fast-food drive-through is said to be the invention of Sheldon "Red" Chaney, who opened a window at his restaurant, Red's Giant Hamburgs, in 1947 so customers could place orders without getting out of the car, according to several sources.

The Missouri restaurant was located along Route 66 in Springfield.

A bank, though, is rumored to be the originator of the drive- through in the late 1930s.

Newcomers to drivethrough business include Starbucks, which began window service in 1994.

As of March there were more than 1,600 nationwide, including five in Colorado Springs.

Drug store Walgreens has had drive-through pharmacies since the early 1990s. Eighty percent of all Walgreens stores nationwide have a drivethrough, according to the company.

McDonald's started its ordering-out-of-the-car operation in 1975. Today, the restaurant offers multi-lane versions.

Leroy Schmidt, owner-operator of four McDonald's restaurants -- one in Monument, one in Limon, and two in Castle Rock -- said drive- through sales surpass those of inside sales in all but his Limon location.

Happy Eating My Friends

Hi Nick

I like the topic, but not doing much for obesity mate. But, then again, neither are cars with automatic windows or computerised locking systems. It's a pity cars didn't have automatic steering then we wouldn't have to use our arms at all. Have you noticed at shopping centre car parks that most people park as close to the entrance as they can? Nobody wants to walk 10 or 20 metres nowadays.

Hello Nick,

Thanks my Friend.  As always you can me laugh, sometimes so hard that I cry.  I do appreciate it.

Seems the local "Genius" had just finished visiting a friend in the hospital and stopped by a burger drive-through for lunch to eat on the way back to work. He ordered the #1 combo (burger, fry, coke) for $4.29. She said "that'll be $4.83, please drive forward."

"$4.83?? For a $4.29 meal?? That's 54 cents tax!? That can't be right," his mind raced. Tax is 8 cents on the dollar in Huntsville, Alabama and for 4 dollars that would be 32 cents plus 1/3 (29) of 8 cents would be 35 cents max.

He'd heard of window workers overcharging drive through customers and skimming the money for themselves.  In fact, someone hd done just that to him at a Fast-Food place a couple of years ago.

Since he didn't have his calculator watch (Lost it a while back) he got a pen and paper and did the long division since there were 2 cars ahead of him. Let's see ... 483/429 ... over 12 percent tax!? When he got to the window he handed her a $5 and said "what's the sales tax in Huntsville?" She didn't know. He said "$4.83 for a $4.29 meal is 12 percent tax. That can't be right. Can I talk to the manager?" She gave him his change and called the manager.

So the manager comes over and he asked what the sales tax is in Huntsville, and she says 8 percent. So he replied that he had just paid $4.83 for a $4.29 meal and that's over 12 percent sales tax.

She got a funny look on her face and said that maybe the computer had rung it up wrong or had charged him for the biggie size (biggie upgrade was 35 cents - which would be 4.64 plus tax which would put it over $5). She admitted it was supposed to be 4.63, and opened the drawer to give him his extra change.

"HA!" he thought to himself. "Six years engineering school had so heightened his mental mathematical adeptness that he could do percentages in his head and his superior intellect has foiled a feeble attempt by a drive-through worker to overcharge him!"

So what did this mathematical wizard do next? He took the twenty cents she handed me, proud of his staggering genius, and smugly drove off without his food.

__________

Think maybe this Guy had a few or 5 Margaritas, before stopping by for Tacos?

__________

I pulled up to the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant and ordered coffee. I asked the clerk to put some ice cubes into the cup so that I could drink the cool coffee quickly. At the window, there was a delay. Finally, the clerk came to the window looking frustrated, and announced, "I'm having a problem. The ice keeps melting."

__________

I think I've found the Perfect Place for my next wedding...

Then I can just drive around the corner to take care of the Second Part...

__________

Ever wonder what if Bill Gates owned a McDonalds franchise?

Here are some of the changes we might see:

1) Super Size 'upgrades' would be mandatory, if customers wanted to actually use the food to its fullest potential.

2) We'd all have to buy new cars to use the McMicrosoft Drive-Thru.

3) Upon hearing about a new burger about to be launched by Netscape King, McMicrosoft would 'preannounce' *their* new burger, even though its secret sauce is still in alpha.

4) They'd steal recipes from Apple's employee cafeteria!

5) Once a customer eats McMicrosoft food, trying to remove all traces of it from the digestive tract proves impossible.

__________

__________

Have A Happy Week,

Phil

One More Sign I'd Love To See

   

wine... and those who don't.
 
 
As Ben Franklin said : 'In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.'

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria  found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.