Batman Burger, Hong Kong

While Hong Kong was in the streets demanding democracy, McDonald’s was running a Batman special. The Diner Double Beef came with salty fries and a fizzy drink that tasted like green tea and apples, and if you couldn’t leave your apartment, they’d bring it to your door.

I don’t know what McDonald’s thought this was doing. Running a comic book promotion while the city was in upheaval wasn’t thoughtless exactly—just capital being capital. The burger didn’t care about politics. It was just food. It sold in good times and bad, protests or not, because there’s always someone hungry and a chain that will deliver.

You can find something funny or depressing in that depending on the day. That afternoon in Hong Kong, it was probably both at once.