Do you remember the KFC Double Down? Probably not, because it’s been pretty much irrelevant for three years. But for a few months back in the summer of 2010, you would hear about the Double Down everywhere you turned – and not simply because KFC put together a massive marketing campaign to promote their new sandwich* - but because every news outlet in America decided that putting bacon in between two chicken breasts represented the downfall of our country. Apparently the absence of bread made the Double Down the hottest thing since sliced bread.

*If it lacks bread, is it still a sandwich? KFC marketed it as such, but I imagine John Montagu, 4^th Earl of Sandwich, is rolling over in his grave right now

So why do I bring this up now? Well, a recent trip to In-N-Out Burger got me thinking. During my In-N-Out visit, I ordered a Double Double and some french fries, nothing too out of the ordinary for a hungry 22 year old male (hell, the 14 year old in front of me got a 4*4 and a large Coke…woof.) But a quick visit to the In-N-Out Burger website reveals that this meal contained over 1000 calories and 60 grams of fat (don’t worry I burned off these calories by doing nothing for the rest of the day.) A little more research revealed that a KFC Double Down contains 540 calories and 32 grams of fat… so what was all the fuss about back in 2010? Every fast food meal is unhealthy, why was the Double Down singled out?

I guess the Joker answered this question best back in “The Dark Knight” when he waxed philosophical with Harvey Dent: “You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go 'according to plan.' Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all 'part of the plan'. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!” The Joker’s channeling of Nietzsche offers a pretty effective explanation as to why the Double Down offended the sensibilities of so many Americans. It simply went against what we expected. If KFC threw a bun around the Double Down, it would have become even more unhealthy, but no one would have batted an eye. Our insistence on sticking to the plan often clashes with our rationality.    

Ultimately, humans are creatures of habit, and we do not like to stray from these habits. But maybe it would be in my best interests to stop habitually going to In-N-Out Burger.