And then I wrote...
by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus
... that when I put up a new roll of toilet paper this morning, I was struck again by how manufacturers may think they are fooling us. The new roll measures four inches wide. The holder, installed in the middle 1940s, was designed to hold the standard size roll of that day, four and a half inches. I think there was a period when rolls were four and a quarter inches before arriving at the current much diminished size. Question for someone who is more enchanted with math than I am: How many rolls does the manufacturer gain given the same amount of paper?
Then, preparing breakfast, I grabbed the large can of coffee off the shelf, the size that used to be advertised as the three pound can. But truth in labeling reveals it is now a two pound, 2.5 ounce can. Same thought: How many extra cans does the manufacturer get for the same measure of coffee?
Next, I opened a new box of breakfast cereal, the giant sized box. The plastic-like bag inside which I had to open to get to the cereal was about two-thirds full, and could easily have fit into a smaller box.
Reflecting further, I was not aware any of those products carried a cheaper price because of the reduction in amounts, and in fact, may have even increased in price as the amounts shrunk.
The radio brought an ad for a “new” product that was being offered free to the first 50 customers who call in. It was the same ad I had been hearing since before Christmas. If 50 folks have not called by now, why continue the ad? Obviously nobody wants the product if that is the case!
How dumb do they think we are? Ah, don’t answer that.
There’s a book seller somewhere in New England who sends me a catalog every so often, since I have bought books from them in past years. Prices are much cheaper than at retail outlets, and the selection is huge - hundreds of titles. The catalog does not give much information about the author or the book, with maybe a 25-word summary of what the book is about. While making out an order for a couple books I wanted recently, I noticed a whole bunch of books selling for $1.98 or $2.98, and three sounded interesting, so for that money, I included them in my order, curious as to why they were so cheap. When they arrived, I had my answer, and it is one I did not find welcome or reassuring. One had a pervasive evangelical Christian theme, and the other two are by black writers about black families. Does that lead to what seems to be an obvious conclusion, i.e., that Christian and black authors are not appreciated or valued as highly as others?
While meanwhile, Fifty Shades of Grey reappears on the best seller list as the movie is released to record or near-record crowds, despite being panned by critics.
