Arby's Hilarious New Phone App Helps You Identify Different Types Of Fries
You don't have to be a potato pro to know your shoestring fries from your steak fries and your tornado potatoes from your tater tots. Curly fries and waffle fries are easy to distinguish, but can you tell poutine from pommes soufflés from patatas bravas, or American fries from home fries from hash browns? So much potato perplexity!
If you've struggled to determine the exact species of fried potato inhabiting the margins of your burger platter, never fear: there's now an app for that. Seriously, Arby's felt that a fry identifier was exactly what the world needed, and they stepped up to the plate and delivered before anyone even thought to ask for such a thing. (And, according to this tweet, just in time for National Fry Day.) If you can't wait to check the app out for yourself, the good news is you don't have to download anything. You will, however, need to open the Arby's Field Guide to Fries app using a phone's mobile browser, as it won't work with a computer's webcam.
How to use Arby's fry identifier
Once you open the fry app, which we can verify works in Chrome, Safari, and Edge phone browsers, you need to allow permission for the app to use your phone's camera in order for it to scan your fries. Point the camera fry-ward, and let the scanner do its thing. It will quickly classify said fries as belonging to a particular genus and species, such as the Curlius Fryisus (also known as curly fries). The identification will be accompanied by a brief description such as this one for Curlius Fryisus: "magnificent coiled potatoes bouncing about in a nest of spices and seasonings."
The one thing the Field Guide to Fries may not be, however, is accurate. We used it to scan photos (not having any actual fries on hand) of both steak fries and shoestring fries and each time the ID came up as curly fries. This isn't the only type of fries in their database, however, as The Takeout says the app can also cough up a classification of Crinklus Potaticus (crinkle fries). Even if the app is incapable of accurate fry-dentification, it is pretty fun to play with, and includes a link to score 50% off on a sandwich if you sign up for their mailing list.