McDonald's Chicken Nuggets Come In 4 Specific Shapes. Here's Why.

McNuggets have impeccable form.

For years, the internet has circulated the news there are four distinct shapes of McDonald’s chicken nuggets: the bell, boot, ball and bone, or bow-tie.

A recent video from Business Insider brings the phenomenon to our attention once again, explaining McNuggets are pressed into these four specific shapes to ensure even cooking and appeal to the kid in all of us.

Nuggets are cut into shapes of equal width for reliable cooking times. They’re also designed for easy dipping in McD’s sauces, as McDonald’s Canada explained in a 2012 post on its Q&A page:

The 4 shapes we make Chicken McNuggets in was the perfect equilibrium of dipability and fun. 3 would’ve been too few. 5 would’ve been, like, wacky. For now, our McNugget shapes are: the ‘ball,’ the ‘boot,’ the ‘bow-tie’ and the ‘bell.’ We also make them similar in size to ensure consistent cooking times for food safety.

The shapes are still in use and served at U.S. locations, a spokeswoman confirmed to HuffPost. Learn even more about how chicken nuggets are made ― if you dare.

A version of this story was first published in 2012.