Chipotle just scored a major coup at an Ivy League school

Here's something you might not believe: A collection of Chipotle cups and paper bags is being showcased in a Yale University library that houses literary gems such as five extremely rare first editions of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

Part of Chipotle's "Cultivating Thought" Author Series, the illustrated cups and bags feature original stories and essays written by the likes of comedian Aziz Ansari, poet and novelist Julia Alvarez, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman. 

How did this happen? Like anyone trying to get into Yale, the fast-food chain had to "apply" before it was accepted.

Once the Ivy League school gave the nod, Chipotle donated a complete series of the cups and bags to the Yale Collection of American Literature - which archives all forms of media, even bumper stickers - at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. 

The backstory on the series is actually kind of cool. New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer emailed Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells and pitched him the idea. Foer came up with the concept for "Cultivating Thought" while he was sitting in Chipotle eating a burrito with nothing to read. 

Flicker/Lauren ManningYale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library welcomes Chipotle to the Yale Collection of American Literature.

Ells loved the idea and tasked Foer with curating the eclectic group of writers who would contribute the exclusive two-minute reads emblazoned on Chipotle's cups and bags. 

The series launched in May of last year and a second installment was added this January. We're guessing there will be many more installments to come, especially after this recent coup.