It’s a hot summer day, or maybe just a lazy winter day. You’ve got a wicked craving for a McFlurry (and maybe even a McRib…but that’s another column for another day). Or perhaps you’ve just been looking forward to treating yourself to a simple soft serve cone. Like their french fries, McDonald’s laces their ice cream with some sort of opiate that causes instant attachment and addiction. There’s nothing else like it anywhere. It’s not even that good; you just…need it.

You roll up to your local MickyD’s. You can almost taste the ice cream. Heck, maybe you’ll make it a shake. Maybe you’ll just do both. You’re a grown up and you can do what you want!

You mosey on up to the counter, wallet in hand. Aidyn/Brayden/Hayden/Jaxson couldn’t look less enthused to be serving you but you don’t care. You’re about to drown all of the world’s trouble in a perfect concoction of creamy sweetness.

“The machine is down”

You can hardly believe your ears. “What did you say?”

“The machine is down. No ice cream.”

We’ve all been there and it is devastating.

One woman decided she’d had enough. Some people cure life-threatening diseases, some people rescue children from burning buildings, some people dedicated their lives to the homeless and oppressed. Raina Mcleod added her name to the list of national heroes by developing an app that will tell customers if the ice cream machine at their McDonald’s of choice is broken before they even get there. Mcleod told Buzzfeed:

“I came up with the idea for the app around a year ago, after a late night Oreo McFlurry craving went unfulfilled due to the ice cream machine being down.”

The “Ice-Check” app is available on iOS and will show you the McDonald’s nearest to your location and also if it’s ice cream machine is in working order. In case the machine breaks after your arrival, there is an option to warn other users of the downed machine.

Is it too early to start discussing a possible Nobel Prize for Mcleod?