9/10 and What Happened to Pairs?

Observations on the Southcoast, MA – We’ve been took!  And, we allow ourselves to be taken.  Maybe we deserve it?  Gas prices are scary enough.  There’s a phenomenon when gas prices hit a certain amount – the digital readout on the gaspump indicating how much gas you’ve put in seems to be going very slow.  In actuality, it’s the the digital readout on the gaspump indicating how much you’ve spent so far – it’s going so fast, it makes the other look slow!  

But what’s more of a phenomenon is the 9/10 that we seem to fail to see.  $3.85 is really $3.85 and 9/10 – why?  I know gas seems as expensive as gold but, don’t you think 9/10 is pushing it.  Would we feel anymore ripped off if they rounded off?  I know that $2.99 is really $3 but 9/10 is a whole other matter!      

And, hey, what about buying curtains?  I hope the pants business doesn’t get inspired by this; they now sell curtains by the panel (or, leg).  As such, how can we continue to call them curtains?  It takes two to do one window yet they’re sold separately.  I was doing food shopping the other day and while walking down the cereal aisle, I got a real shock. I just happened to look down at the bottom shelf when it hit me!  They made the front of the cereal boxes larger but they were narrower.  The coffee aisle somehow forgot what a pound is.  A pound can range between eleven to thirteen ounces but not sixteen.  The freezer section also presents some hanky-panky with a three quart half-gallon of ice cream.

Yeah, sure it’s marketing.  Perhaps it’s shame on us because, after all, the Romans warned: caveat emptor – buyer beware!  No one likes paying more so, instead of increasing the price of goods, they decrease the volume or weight.  This is especially true of use-em-up items, as they’re called in retail.  Use-em-ups include diapers, toilet paper, toothpaste, coffee, bread…  Consumers already don’t like buying these items repeatedly so they’re always looking for the lowest prices to get more - bang for the buck. 

The craziness has even affected dog lovers.  Have you noticed the explosion of tiny dogs?  You even see the big tough guys walking these mini-dogs.  Once upon a time, folks bought big old sloppy dogs to watch their house.  Once upon a time, television was free.  Now we pay for cable.  Once upon a time, hot dogs were cheaper than most steak.  Last week, knockwurst was more expensive than the sirloin on sale.  Once upon a time, I drove a 1974 Pontiac Ventura with a V8 engine that got 25-miles per gallon.  Once upon a time, I drove a 1990 Geo Prism that got 36-miles to the gallon.  What gives?  The best they can do is 40-MPG or 50-MPG with a hybrid?  It's been twenty-one years since my old Prism (AKA Toyota Corolla) came out and the mileage hasn't improved?   

Once upon a time, a half-gallon of orange juice was 64 ounces.  Now it’s 59 ounces.  Same low price – hah!  Once upon a time, toilet paper was wider than it is now.  Once upon a time, a medium size polo shirt was medium.  Now, it’s been feel-good sized.  A medium is a large, a large used to be an extra-large, etc.  Oh, yeah, if you wore a medium you now wear a small.

So the question of this shorter than usual blog post is: Is half a loaf less than half and, is it still better than none?