Cat-apulting Into History The Feline-Flying Military Tactic That Never Took Off Throughout military history, you’ll find strategic experiments ranging from the genius to the downright bizarre. But few can top the zany brainchild of Franz Helm, a 16th-century German artillery aficionado whose bright idea left historians — and cat lovers — utterly bewildered. Let’s set the scene with Helm’s magnum opus, the “Feuer Buech,” published in 1584, a treasure trove of ( literally ) explosive innovations in warfare. Imagine this: a battlefield in the Renaissance, not just filled with the clang of swords and the thunder of cannons, but also — wait for it — flying, flaming cats. Yes, you read that right. Franz Helm’s groundbreaking military tactic involved jetpacks for cats. Picture a kitty, strapped with a sack of gunpowder, zipping through the air like a furry missile aimed at enemy strongholds. The hope? These feline projectiles would scamper back to their homes — presumably in enemy territory — and start a blazing inferno. One can only wonder about how they would train cats to become arsonists. The method was straightforward: kidnap an enemy cat, strap it into a gunpowder-laden backpack, light the fuse, and hope Mr. Whiskers doesn’t get cold paws about blowing up its evil overlords. Preserved for posterity at the University of Pennsylvania, the “Feuer Buech” reminds us of the lengths human creativity can go — especially when combined with a profound misunderstanding of cat behavior. As any cat owner will tell you, cats have their own agendas. The chances of a cat completing its fiery mission are about as high as it bringing you the morning newspaper. Thankfully, we have no evidence that this pyrotechnic plan ever came to pass. Considering cats’ notorious independence, we can rest assured that no self-respecting felines took part in these explosive escapades. So, next time you’re cuddling with your cat, be thankful its biggest inclination is to knock pens off your table rather than infiltrate enemy castles with fire.
Fast Food Gets Faster Need for Speed
How fast can fast food get?
The entire industry has shaved the average time elapsed between arriving at a drive-thru lane to receiving your food by almost 8%, or 29 seconds, according to a survey last year by QSR Magazine. Restaurant operators are innovating like mad to speed up their operations even more. Taco Bell’s purple-neon, two-story “Defy” prototype in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, aims to get customers through the drive-thru in two minutes or less. The facility has separate drive-thru lanes for mobile customers, delivery drivers, and traditional orders and delivers each order from a second-story kitchen via vertical lifts. In a test, QSR found Defy reduced customers’ total drive-thru time sharply to just a little under three minutes, compared with an industry average of 5 minutes 43 seconds. McDonald’s has opened two highly automated stores, in Fort Worth, Texas, and Denver, where employees begin processing online orders before customers arrive and robots prepare and deliver it via a conveyor belt. Although automation isn’t a slam- dunk, it reflects progress. Order-filling accuracy fell by 8%, but food delivery to customers rose by nearly 200 seconds. Other chains are testing designs that combine drive-thru with speedy access to order pickups. Whataburger opened a digital kitchen last year that serves mobile and delivery customers with automated delivery through Apex smart lockers. Employees prepare the online order, place it in the locker, and move on to the next task. Jack in the Box and Del Taco operators also are trying automated stand-alone facilities with a pickup area just inside the building. The risk in emphasizing speedy drive-thru and pick-up service, some industry experts say, is that restaurants are becoming giant vending machines. Visiting a fast-food restaurant has become more of a transaction than a dining experience. Not all chains are removing the human touch. Chick-fil-A opened a two-story drive-thru restaurant in Atlanta with a capacity of 75 cars at a time, sheltered by a kitchen built overhead. But employees still collect orders from the kitchen and hand them to customers in person. And so far, the industry’s quest for speed appears to be paying off. Visits at fast food and fast casual restaurants have risen fairly consistently through 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, outpacing the up-and-down traffic trends at full-service restaurants, according to Placer.ai. Their increasing speed of service may be giving fast food purveyors an edge.
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