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Items Invented to Make Eating in a Car Easy

Unflattering objects designed for a sad reality

By Rain Noe - January 19

Eating fast food while sitting in your car is kind of sad, but I still do it. When you're in the middle of nowhere and starving, it's often the only option, with ubiquitous burger joints having COVID-closed dining areas and offering drive-thru only.

Unsurprisingly, there's a category of objects designed to ease in-car dining. For starters, this plastic object mates the shape of your cupholder with a French fry container:

This "universal mount" dipping sauce holder attaches to your car's vents, and is designed to hold containers of different shapes from various fast-food chains:

This cupholder-mounted tray ratchets up the sadness by providing a smartphone mount, so you can watch superhero movies while you silently munch saturated fats:

This tray design below seems the most sensible. It plugs into the cupholder while still allowing you to use that space as a cupholder, and offers a second cupholder, and the whole thing pivots so you've got a little more freedom…

…and you can also pretend it's not for eating off of.

I'll put these objects in the category of "I'm sad they exist, but I see why they exist."

Comments

Hans Marvell

8 months ago

Z

Z

This is the only solution: The Adult sized Man-Bib:
https://www.ninelife.dk/products/silicone-adult-bib-with-a-removable-pocket-cloth-protector-waterproof-washable-blue?gclid=Cj0KCQiAraSPBhDuARIsAM3Js4qDzCqpQDFG64NWIRfNQNKwjh4cH2wGc9pCIdLt0mYqrwPF0rrPACcaAqCSEALw_wcB

Then you always have some stray left overs in the bottom for that post-lunch munchie feeling ;-)

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Ross Oliver

8 months ago

Z

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You forgot this one:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Generic-Car-Laptop-and-Food-Steering-Wheel-Tray/117400917
Only while parked of course.
I also carry my bbq apron in the back, for protection from mustard drips.

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Billy Mack

8 months ago

Z

Z

Perhaps sadly, although it doesn't make me sad, I regularly eat lunch in my truck. These are very amusing.

Probably not a great idea to have the dipping sauce so near the vents. I've seen someone spill BBQ sauce allll up in their vents. Pas bon!

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Rain Noe

I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.