The Fine Print You Probably Didn't Notice On McDonald's Cups

Jul 27, 2023

There is more to McDonald's cups than meets the eye. Along with the flashy logo and other promotional material, you may have noticed a few other distinguishable marks to help employees. Because service at McDonald's should be fast and efficient, the company has specific labels and details printed on much of its packaging to ensure that orders are correct and can be done promptly. This is evident in the pop tabs on the plastic lids that cover your favorite fountain beverages. You'll usually see tabs marked "Cola," "Diet," or "Other." In some instances, you might even see a rectangular button on McDonald's lids which acts as a reset button in case the wrong choice is pushed in.

However, the tiny lined markings that run horizontally across different spots of a McDonald's cup are there to determine how much ice should be put in the cup. Tiny red markings that you may find on the paper cups let employees know how much ice should be added to soda and iced tea beverages. These lines may also turn up on your favorite McCafe beverage cups.

Although the little lines printed on paper McDonald's cups and McCafe clear plastic cups are small details that can be easily ignored, one person took offense and decided to vent their feelings via TikTok. In a short video, TikToker @sammersschulz says, "Train your crew better McDonald's. I don't need to see their visual aids on my cup." The cup he refers to is a clear McCafe cup with a yellow line a few inches from the bottom showing the ice fill line for soda and another a few inches from the lid for iced-coffee beverages.

In the caption, he writes, "Tacky asf." Maybe they were hoping for some camaraderie in his anger over the markings. However, commenters didn't hold back when it came to calling him out. "Not tacky at all. Useful," said one person, with another commenting, "Bros acting like he's too cool for a line on a cup." Another person came in with a helpful explanation saying, "They do that because McCafe and regular drink sizes are different! a medium reg drink is a large mccafé, it's weird but that's why."