Lettuce is better torn, than cut!
No, not always...in a salad, yes, tearing the lettuce is considered more elegant. Cut lettuce is however, a secret to making several types of salads, which are more akin to "slaws" than salads...when one wants the lettuce to absorb MORE dressing, cutting it is usually the better option. Torn lettuce is generally assumed by most people to be better for salads, but I have several recipes for salads that actually taste far,far better when the lettuce is ribbon-cut. I have a shrimp "salad" people often request that I bring to events. The secret? The lettuce is cut in roughly 1/2 inch wide strips, 2 inches long.
For use in hamburgers,tacos, and wraps, cut lettuce, specifically shredded lettuce, keeps the lettuce in place, and exposes more surface area to the tongue in each bite--similar to the way shredded beef or chicken make a better-tasting burrito or enchilada than a breast meat strip, etc. You can try the taste test yourself, in a burger, comparing finely shredded lettuce versus whole-leaf or torn leaf lettuce...there's actually quite a difference in taste, and in how the condiments tend to mix, or not mix, with the lettuce.
As I said, Burger King just spent a million dollars on developing a proprietary lettuce shredding machine because their taste testing proved that their customers prefer shredded lettuce to torn or whole leaves...just as the classic American "cafe burger" of the 1920's proved...shredded lettuce tastes better in a burger...and it prevents huge globs of mustard, ketchup, mayo, or fat from oozing out of the burger on the lettuce, and dripping down the front of one's shirt...but if you say lettuce is better torn than cut, well...everybody else must be wrong about what they like more...
...I feel sorry for unpopular--after disconnecting from the 'net, he will no longer have access to lettuce wars, the Sony a77 threads, the Facebook Fauxtographers threads, none of that kinda stuff!! zOMG...