A Controversial French Fry Ranking Is Bitterly Dividing the Internet

Some people love french fries almost as much as they love yelling at strangers on the internet. Luckily, the poor souls who fall into this camp are usually cordoned off inside the insular hellscape known as Twitter. These folks were presented with an opportunity to combine their shared joys of complaining and fries last weekend, when user @CriminelleLaw tweeted an arbitrary ranking of french fries, sparking a debate that can only be described as heated and divisive. 

First of all, who knew there are so many ways to fry a potato? Second, it wasn't patently clear before this chart just how passionate people are about french fries, and the lengths they'll go to rebuff others who offer countering opinions. You can forget about deepening partisan divides in Washington, the Warriors versus the Cavaliers, or any other bitter feud, really, because fries are the new impasse gripping American society. 

@CriminelleLaw's tweet -- which has been retweeted 11,000 times and liked 21,000 times as of Tuesday -- earned nearly 2,000 replies from folks who wanted to air their grievances and advocate for the fried potato most deserving to stand atop the greasy pile. Needless to say it got messy, so here's a sample of the debate: 

Though it seems like something @CriminelleLaw found digging around the internet and posted only to stir the pot, the french fry ranking was actually made by Food Republic in 2015. The mad-genius behind the project, editor Jess Kapadia, told the Daily Dot about what it's like to get the masses seething over fries. "We had as much conflict among ourselves as we’ve seen in the comments, both when it originally posted and now. I had chef friends spamming my Facebook page alternately with praise and hate," she said. 

What's probably most surprising about the chart is the actual breadth of fries included, not to mention the rankings themselves. Why for example, is something as ostentatious as the Potato Tornado -- which is a whole potato on a skewer, sliced individually for dramatic effect -- ranked so unfavorably? The fact that Smiley Fries even made the cut is laughable. They are, after all, a gimmick fry meant to entice little kids who aren't old enough to enjoy adult fries. 

In any case, it's worth noting that the fry experts at Thrillist have been ahead of the potato curve for years, and we've got our own french ranking from 2013 that we hope you'll sink your teeth into. All opinions contained in that ranking -- even those concerning Waffle Fries -- are inarguably correct and will not be subject to debate.  

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