Things you often Wonder

[villa4europe]

They've got the Ben and jerry's at cinemas and Baskin Robbins, I'm sure BR tried to do stores elsewhere too but they're shit

 

[Mark Albrighton]

Thanks for that @HanoiVillan, interesting.

I shall return to the blueprints of “Marco’s ice cream parlour - home of the dairy king”‘ with this information.

[mjmooney]

51 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

From tv and films, I often hear “kids...let’s go for ice cream!” or something akin to that. I always picture a 50’s diner like the one in “Back to the future”.

I’m sure we have something similar here, but it doesn’t feel like “going for ice cream” is something that’s done here. 

Actual extracts from a WhatsApp conversation with my daughter, yesterday: 

[Robtaylor200]

what was the best thing   before sliced bread ?

[bannedfromHandV]

5 minutes ago, Robtaylor200 said:

what was the best thing   before sliced bread ?

I’m guessing unsliced bread.

[sharkyvilla]

1 hour ago, villa4europe said:

They've got the Ben and jerry's at cinemas and Baskin Robbins, I'm sure BR tried to do stores elsewhere too but they're shit

 

Shopping malls over here usually have an ice cream place as well.  I guess with the UK being cold half the year, the demand for walking up and getting an ice cream is smaller than the US and there isn't enough business in people turning up to sit in for a massive dessert.  That said, my town has two independent ice cream parlours but no McDonalds or Burger King.

[Stevo985]

2 hours ago, Wainy316 said:

How about when Americans say they 'could care less' when they mean that they 'couldn't care less'.

Not to be confused with when they say they "could give a shit". Which makes as much sense, if not more, than if they "couldn't give a shit"

[tonyh29]

2 hours ago, Robtaylor200 said:

what was the best thing   before sliced bread ?

wrapped bread

There was a slogan from an advert for a bread slicing machine that it was    "The greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped" 

 

its kinda morphed via misquoting  into "the greatest thing since slice bread"  line , but it infers before slicing , wrapping it was the best thing

[fightoffyour]

2 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

wrapped bread

There was a slogan from an advert for a bread slicing machine that it was    "The greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped" 

 

its kinda morphed via misquoting  into "the greatest thing since slice bread"  line , but it infers before slicing , wrapping it was the best thing

Beat me to it, but I have now found that I share a birthday with sliced bread and, uncoincidentally (since he chose the release date for that reason), it’s inventor.

[Mic09]

Everyone talks about reducing emissions, caring for environment, looking after the planet.

Good. We should do that. 

Can someone explain why there isn't a law that says major retailers can't put fruit and veg in plastic packaging?

Why do I have to pick up leeks covered in foil in Tesco's? Why are apples packaged in plastic? Why do avocadoes have plastic cover, and a plastic thing on which they sit?

Manufacturers must pay big money for all that plastic and it's simply not needed - as far as I can tell, a customer doesn't benefit from this packaging at all.

Why does no one talk about this as an issue, yet plastic straws are somehow frowned up? I bet quantity of plastic straws vs unnecessary plastic packaging isn't even a close race.

[Seat68]

7 minutes ago, Mic09 said:

Everyone talks about reducing emissions, caring for environment, looking after the planet.

Good. We should do that. 

Can someone explain why there isn't a law that says major retailers can't put fruit and veg in plastic packaging?

Why do I have to pick up leeks covered in foil in Tesco's? Why are apples packaged in plastic? Why do avocadoes have plastic cover, and a plastic thing on which they sit?

Manufacturers must pay big money for all that plastic and it's simply not needed - as far as I can tell, a customer doesn't benefit from this packaging at all.

Why does no one talk about this as an issue, yet plastic straws are somehow frowned up? I bet quantity of plastic straws vs unnecessary plastic packaging isn't even a close race.

It is an issue and it is being widely talked about. All major high street supermarkets are being constantly pressured to do something about it. There have been a small number of trial shops but not widely rolled out. 
It is however being talked about and retailers are under immense pressure to do something about it. See also plastic toys on the front of magazines. 

[tonyh29]

Brought to you by Troy McClure , who you might remember from educational films as Lead Paint: Delicious but Deadly and Mommy, What's Wrong with that Man's Face?

[chrisp65]

We all know how to play the virtue game.

We all know it’s better not to kill the turtles. 

Then, we pop along to Tesco and given the choice of loose carrots, or carrots in a turtle strangling bag, we pick up the bag.

Stupid thing is, you now have a bag of 20 but carrots, you won’t eat 20 carrots. So some of them go in the bin, next to the carrot bag.

Then we all sit down and watch Blue Planet and think someone should do something about all the dead turtles and plastic bags.

The supermarkets will sell stuff in the packaging that moves stock. Currently, most people presume carrots / onions / leeks / spuds are supposed to arrive scrubbed clean and untouched and all be the same colour and the same shape and in a plastic bag. We pretend it would be impossible to buy 5 loose carrots because our lives are already so complex.

 

[blandy]

5 hours ago, fightoffyour said:

why the **** would you “abbreviate” Gun Shot Wound to GSW? 

I work in another sector where TLAs are ubiquitous. It's because of writing it down. GSW being much shorter, obviously...then it gets spoken as written and takes over.

Sorry if you're NFI

[HanoiVillan]

4 minutes ago, blandy said:

I work in another sector where TLAs are ubiquitous. It's because of writing it down. GSW being much shorter, obviously...then it gets spoken as written and takes over.

Sorry if you're NFI

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but when I worked at Shell it was at the EUADSXMFGASD.

[It's Your Round]

1 hour ago, Mic09 said:

Everyone talks about reducing emissions, caring for environment, looking after the planet.

Good. We should do that. 

Can someone explain why there isn't a law that says major retailers can't put fruit and veg in plastic packaging?

Why do I have to pick up leeks covered in foil in Tesco's? Why are apples packaged in plastic? Why do avocadoes have plastic cover, and a plastic thing on which they sit?

Manufacturers must pay big money for all that plastic and it's simply not needed - as far as I can tell, a customer doesn't benefit from this packaging at all.

Why does no one talk about this as an issue, yet plastic straws are somehow frowned up? I bet quantity of plastic straws vs unnecessary plastic packaging isn't even a close race.

It goes beyond individual choice and the decisions of supermarkets. Plastic use is controlled and driven by the petrochemical industry, it’s way too profitable to simply stop making plastic. And organisations the size of Exxon Mobil etc have vested interests in keeping fossil fuel burning, and governments in their pockets. 

While we should all do what we can to reduce plastic waste, it’s not really on us. The change needs to happen at government level. 

[blandy]

10 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

We all know how to play the virtue game.

We all know it’s better not to kill the turtles. 

Then, we pop along to Tesco and given the choice of loose carrots, or carrots in a turtle strangling bag, we pick up the bag.

Stupid thing is, you now have a bag of 20 but carrots, you won’t eat 20 carrots. So some of them go in the bin, next to the carrot bag.

Then we all sit down and watch Blue Planet and think someone should do something about all the dead turtles and plastic bags.

The supermarkets will sell stuff in the packaging that moves stock. Currently, most people presume carrots / onions / leeks / spuds are supposed to arrive scrubbed clean and untouched and all be the same colour and the same shape and in a plastic bag. We pretend it would be impossible to buy 5 loose carrots because our lives are already so complex.

 

Well, yes and no (I know you know this)

The supermarket I go to down the road doesn't have any placky bags for loose veg etc any more - it's all paper. They don't do any single use placky carrier bags. I think they may sell long life ones, but mostly canvas ones. You can still get stuff wrapped in too much unnecessary packaging, but it is diminishing. I think it's come about through customers and through stuff Like Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall's fish thing and wastage TV campaigns, Blue Planety programmes and so on. If people act then stuff changes. Supermarkets often lead expectations, like you say for all perfectly shaped Orange Carrots in a bag, but when customers perceptions change from I want perfect carrots in plastic (that they were led to think they wanted) to "I want ones shaped like a thingy" (cue Blackadder Nursey "it looks just like a thingy")  and in a paper bag, then they revert back.

[blandy]

9 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but when I worked at Shell it was at the EUADSXMFGASD.

Congrats - Binglewhack

EUADSXMFGASD - Bing

[chrisp65]

Fresh food pre wrapped in plastic bags on little plastic trays is diminishing, yes. I didn’t mean loose food put in plastic bags, I’d kinda hope that isn’t possible anymore? As with plastic bags at the counter. I was referring to the pre packed veg.

But whilst the supermarkets struggle to find an alternative to 15 mushrooms wrapped in non recyclable film on a dark plastic tray, and dark plastic can’t be recycled. We could solve this for them, by about June 2021. We could solve it by not buying them.

I’d guarantee that if nobody bought mushrooms on a dark plastic tray during May, such an option wouldn’t even exist in June.

Do what was done with plastic bags, make it clear that pre wrapped food carries a tax. When the carrots are 47p and there is a strap line on the bag saying 10p was for the bag, and another 10p for the onion bag, and another 10p for the three peppers in a bag... that’ll get everyone to concentrate and pre plan. Just like with the carrier bags.

[HanoiVillan]

11 minutes ago, blandy said:

Congrats - Binglewhack

EUADSXMFGASD - Bing

*Champion, champion, champion*