[Thanks Brad!]

Adam's vivisection of the Col-Pop shows that the material between the pops and the pop is a thin membrane, but he doesn't comment on the effectiveness of keeping the two separate. I mean, the obvious problem with this triumph of science over nature is that piping-hot chicken nuggets will water your Dr. Pepper down to Diet Coke-like consistency, while cold soda will turn your steaming nuggets into tough, lukewarm chunks of breaded styrofoam. The chain offering this plastic marvel, BBQ Chicken, has locations in NY, NJ and NC—can any Giz readers offer a review?

Update: Adam goes diving a little deeper for us, revealing that pokey eaters will indeed be dealing with some soggy chicken, especially on a hot day. Check it: That said, I sooo hope Chik-fil-A is on this thing, pronto. [Serious Eats via BBG]

Product Page [Via ChipChick]

It's starting. Three Jack in the Box restaurants in San Diego are testing the custom-made fast food ordering kiosks, and twelve Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shops in Los Angeles will be the next to try them. Others are experimenting in small tests around the US. Hey, we don't mind if those machines begin to chant the mantra "To Serve Man," as long as that's not the title of a cookbook. – Charlie White

Jack in the Box Orders Up Experimental Self-Serve Kiosks [San Diego Business Journal]
Self-service coming to fast food [Dallas Morning News]

Unfortunately, there is no word on price or availability. This is more of a "check out my awesome charm collection that you know you want for your gadget cult, bitch" sort of posting.

Hit the jump for more yummy plastic cellphone charms.

– Mark Wilson

10 Fast Food Cellphone Accessories [via spluch]

All the ingredients were handmade down to the micro-fries and their teensy bag, and even the itty-bitty soda, and it all reportedly "tasted awesome." You'll walk away hungry from this meal; it's definitely not super-sized. – Charlie White

A Bite to Eat! [Craftster, via Boing Boing]

Touchscreens to order fast food [BoingBoing]

Living in a city without a car, I tend to forget the importance of the drive-thru. Like, who knew that 70 percent of sales at Burger King comes from the drive-thru window? Not I. So I guess it's no surprise that companies are trying to speed up the service by finding higher-tech ways to get your food to you faster. One of which seems to be getting rid of actual words and counting on you knowing what each picture means (I hope you're stylistically intimate with the difference between the Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder). However, another new trick is using call centers to take orders. A firm called TechKnow, Inc. has actually come out with a digital menu, which will suggest "missing side orders" that you may have "forgotten" and smaller chains are using confirmation screens, which will actually show you what you ordered so there will be no mistakes with that strawberry shake. Supposedly, this has helped boost accuracy by more than 11 percentage points in the past four years at McDonald's. Other systems include technology that helps cooks ensure that precooked food remains fresh by keeping track of how long it's been since it was prepared, and a computer system called Hyperactive Bob, which tells managers how much food they need to prepare by counting vehicles in the line and factoring in demand for current promotions and popular staple items. Wow. Lastly, the easy stuff. Checkers is catching up to larger chains like Wendy's by installing debit and credit payment systems as well as touch-screen computers for order-takers.

'I'd like fries with that, and step on it! [CNN]

The Meat Helmet [WMMNA]