A discarded hamburger took the internet by storm over the weekend, piquing the interest of fast-food sleuths nationwide. The mystery of how a pristine In-N-Out double double ended up on a street in Jamaica, Queens, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest In-N-Out location, has now been solved.
Lincoln Boehm, a California native who first spotted the burger in New York City early Saturday morning, was befuddled by the discovery. Boehm, 31, claimed that he had eaten over 1,000 In-N-Out burgers in his life and believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the perfectly wrapped and assembled double double was the real deal.
He took several photos and shared his story online, garnering attention from burger fans and media outlets nationwide.
My buddy Lincoln found a perfectly wrapped In-N-Out burger…
On the streets of Queens, New York!
I AM FREAKING OUT pic.twitter.com/TZbGvLn9N0
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) July 20, 2019
Boehm rejected the idea a typical traveler could have brought the hamburger back with them from the West Coast, citing its still-toasty bun and flawless appearance. He suggested that perhaps a wealthy individual could have had the burgers flown in and tossed them from a car to pedestrians. Boehm said his curious strangers floated several theories online, and a few even claimed to know where the burger came from, but Boehm was quickly able to weed out the false stories.
Boehm then received on Tuesday night a message through Instagram from a Queens-based high school student that said, “Hi. This is actually my burger. You may not believe me.” Helen Vivas, 16, told Boehm of her early morning Saturday flight from San Diego to New York, in which she had attempted to bring home several In-N-Out burgers, only to fall victim to a broken bag. Boehm carefully vetted her account, and on Wednesday, he announced through Vice that the mystery had been solved.
Initially unconvinced by Vivas’ story, Boehm relented when she emailed him with photos of the actual burger in question and a credible story as to how it ended up on the street that day. Vivas, an enormous fan of In-N-Out, had placed a large order for her favorite burgers just before a flight from San Diego to New York with plans to save some burgers to eat when she got home to Queens from her trip. She specifically ordered the burgers without sauce to preserve them as long as possible, which explained why the burger seems so fresh when it was actually several hours old. As Vivas dashed from JFK Airport to her local bus early on Saturday, her bag gave way, and one of her prized burgers came tumbling out.
Helen further provided proof to Boehm through receipts, photos, and texts that she had indeed purchased and lost the burger. She still managed to get home with two burgers from San Diego, and Boehm is now satisfied that the baffling burger has been explained.
