BY EMILY DAVENPORT AND MAX PARROTT
A perfectly wrapped burger that appears to be from the popular West Coast chain In-N-Out was spotted on a Jamaica street over the weekend.
New York Post first reported that at 6:30 a.m. on July 20, Lincoln Boehm, a self-proclaimed In-N-Out fanatic, was with his wife when they decided to kill some time before catching a train at the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road station. As they were walking down Sutphin Boulevard to the nearby McDonald’s, Boehm saw something that he claims will haunt him until his death.
Sitting on the road was a wrapped double-double from In-N-Out, a popular fast food chain that does not have locations east of Kansas City, let alone in Queens.
“The thing that shocked me was how pristine and perfect the burger looked,” said Boehm. While he believes that somebody must have brought the burger with them on the plane–maybe a private jet–he was astonished by the structural of the integrity of the ingredients. “This one looked like it had come off the grill like five minutes ago.”
While he did not touch or eat the burger on the ground, Boehm uploaded photos to his Instagram and tagged In-N-Out. He even sent their Instagram account a message hoping to get some answers–but his DM’s remain empty.
Asked if it was a viral marketing attempt, Boehm remained highly skeptical. “I don’t think it makes any sense. In-N-Out Burger doesn’t even have a Twitter account. It seems like they’re not the most 21-century company. They’re just relying on the fact that they’re such a cult brand,” he surmised.
Since news spread about rare burger’s appearance, Twitter users have generated some intricate theories about how the burger arrived in Queens, ranging from an attempt by Russian spies to monitor the U.S. to the work of prolific artist Banksy. A user also created a Twitter account for the double-double, which plans to keep the public updated as more information unfolds.
“My brother thought that it was like a ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’-type situation, which is like where it’s like my greatest desire is raining from the clouds,” said Boehm.
While In-N-Out remains silent on the issue, Boehm is left reeling from the experience.
“Like the closest thing I can compare not ever getting an answer to this to is like your favorite sports team never winning a championship. The longer it lasts, the more I’m gonna probably want an answer to what happened,” said Boehm.
“I don’t think this is something that I’m going to forget about in the next week, month or year. So it’s going to last with me until my last living breath.”
