In-N-Out Burger is so synonymous with southern California that the average East Coaster might assume the restaurants don't exist beyond the Inland Empire. But that's not quite the truth: although In-N-Out that allows the likes of McDonald's to expand so aggressively, you can find In-N-Outs across the American West, ranging from Oregon to Texas. ( ) But at most locations, you're likely to find a curious sight somewhere on the premises: two palm trees crossed over each other like the necks of amorous flamingos, forming the letter X.
Palm trees, like In-N-Out itself, are native to California, and they're as vital to Los Angeles' iconography as the Hollywood sign or the giant gutter that used to be a river. (You know the one — it's where they had the drag race in "Grease.") But what is the significance of the letter x? Is In-N-Out trying to send us a secret message? The answer is a lot more banal than it might seem: .
The crossed palm trees are a reference to a comedy classic Specifically, ," a delirious comedy that features virtually every single funny person in Hollywood circa 1963 pursuing a hidden treasure. Interesting fact: the film was directed by Stanley Kramer, known for other films like "Inherit the Wind" and "Judgment at Nuremberg." Over the course of three hours, a cast consisting of Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, and Ethel Merman (to name a fraction of the talent on display) squabbles their way across the California desert, looking for a princely sum bu.