Something to celebrate
In the years of go-go prosperity after World War II, Americans fell in love with cars, and they developed an increasing appetite for fast food.
Restaurants like White Castle, Church’s Chicken, Denny’s and this burgeoning franchise called McDonald’s satisfied the yearning of returning veterans and their growing families for burgers, fries and fried chicken, and the assembly lines of Detroit’s auto manufacturers were turning out big cars at a dizzying clip. It made sense that someone would eventually combine the two, so that Americans could order fast-food feasts without switching off the ignition.
The first American restaurant with a drive-thru window is believed to have been at Red’s Giant Hamburg along Route 66 in Springfield, Mo. It opened in 1947, and within four years was followed by Jack in the Box, the first drive-thru chain. By the time the 1980s rolled around, about half of all the business at fast-food restaurants came from drive-thru windows, and that came to be reflected in the design of vehicles — the cupholder was introduced in a car in 1983.
More than 70 years after the introduction of the first drive-thru window, transactions at them now represent 70% of fast-food sales. Americans as a whole pass through drive-thru windows about 6 billion times every year, and, as of 2014, 20% of all meals are eaten in a car or truck.
Saturday is National Drive-Thru Day, a day meant to celebrate the fact that we can, in the words of the National Today website, take “multitasking to a whole new level” thanks to the humble drive-thru window.
July 22: National Hammock Day, National Rat Catchers Day, National Refreshment Day
July 23: Gorgeous Grandma Day, Hot Enough for Ya Day, Yada, Yada, Yada Day
July 24: National Thermal Engineer Day, National Drive-Thru Day, National Cousins Day
July 25: National Merry-Go-Round Day, National Wine and Cheese Day, National Parent’s Day (asked dad why there wasn’t a national’s kids day – he said every day was)
July 26: National Bagelfest Day, National Coffee Milkshake Day, National All or Nothing Day
July 27: National Live is Kind Day, National New Jersey Day, National Scotch Day
July 28: National Waterpark Day, World Conservation Day,聽