So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[HudsonHawk]

...Declarations of war and peace come under this, for example (though in recent decades the convention of a show debate on war has been established).

This has happened in the US as well, as Constitutionally, only Congress can declare war. However, as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the President can use military force pretty much at will, circumventing that requirement (though Congress must ultimately agree to fund it). It's been the common practice now for a while. The US has not officially declared war since June 5, 1942 (on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania), but have certainly been knee deep in military conflicts many times since.

 

[Stearmen]

Those stupid zip openers on carboard box's of food, or what ever the official name is. Rarely do they open half way before they tear off in your hand! Most of the time, I am lucky to get the box a quarter of the way open.

 

[2jakes]

 

[Fading Fast]

Those stupid zip openers on carboard box's of food, or what ever the official name is. Rarely do they open half way before they tear off in your hand! Most of the time, I am lucky to get the box a quarter of the way open.

The mass-produced baked goods company Entenmann's is notorious for this.

After the zipper fails - as it almost always does and as you described it - you need to perform microscopic surgery with a sharp knife to try to rescue the opening process. And even if you are successful, rarely does the stupid little cardboard tab on the upper flap stay slipped into the slot on the lower flap to "reseal" the package anyway.

Hence, I usually just run my finger along the opening once the zipper fails - which makes a ripped mess of it - and then reseal the box by wrapping it inside a plastic bag.

The entire engineering of package opening and resealing must be harder than we think as Oreos has come up with this crazy "pull top oval" that kinda lifts off and makes a wide opening in the top of the package over the cookie sleeves. It has a sticky substance on the edge of the oval that allows you to reseal the package.

It does work okay most of the time, but its two flaws are that it makes it awkward to get at the cookies not under the open part of the oval and, after a few resealing, it tends to wrinkle at the edges and, thus, no longer makes a flush and air-tight seal.

Considering the time, money and energy these companies put into this, I'm surprised there aren't better solutions, but as mentioned, it must be harder than I think or they'd have already solved it.

 

[2jakes]

Considering the time, money and energy these companies put into this, I'm surprised there aren't better solutions, but as mentioned, it must be harder than I think or they'd have already solved it.

Probably because the consumer is no longer on the top of the list of priorities.

 

[Fading Fast]

Probably because the consumer is no longer on the top of the list
of priorities anymore.

Those tins were awesome and very reusable (maybe not so much the Crisco one).

 

[sheeplady]

I have my cracker tin on top of the fridge! It's currently filled with cheezits, the kids cracker of choice.

I hadn't bought Oreos since maybe 2002, and bought them again when pregnant with my son in 2015. First two packages I bought I opened the old "wrong" way, and then as I was throwing the second package out I noticed they could also open from the top... I also had pregnancy brain and wanted my Oreos, so...

Also, a trivial thing... I've noticed that now the larger bags of candy at the checkout aisle (say M&Ms) say "Sharing Size." Honestly, we all know that 99.9% of people who buy those aren't sharing (me included).

 

[Fading Fast]

...Also, a trivial thing... I've noticed that now the larger bags of candy at the checkout aisle (say M&Ms) say "Sharing Size." Honestly, we all know that 99.9% of people who buy those aren't sharing (me included).

I've noticed that too and thought that these companies are trying to get out in front of the political movements against them like the laws against super-sized sodas that have passed in a few cities. If you aren't selling the bag for individual consumption, then you can't be accused of contributing to the obesity problem in the country.

I've never fully understood blaming 7-11 for selling huge sizes of soda as everyone can choose not to buy them - I don't, I could never drink that much soda at one time. But I have bought some larger sized things to share. It seems silly and (thinking out loud) unconstitutional to blame a company and ban a size for the reason noted.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^

I like having something cold to sip on whilst driving and, seeing how the super-mega-giganto-supremo-ultimo fountain drinks are a much better value than the more reasonably sized options, it's the monster cup for me.

BUT ... I fill that 10-gallon vessel to the top with ice and then put unsweetened iced tea where the air was. No calories, and the slowly melting ice gives that something cold to sip on for hours.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can tell you for a fact that the overwhelming majority of 32oz sodas and large popcorns sold from our concession stand are not finished by their purchasers. After every show we throw away many large containers still three-quarters full, and that kind of waste makes me mad. We make our money on the sales whether or not the product is consumed, but I get very upset at the thought that the product has gone thru a long and ardurous manufacturing process involving hundreds or thousands of different people around the world, only to be tossed into the garbage because the purchaser overestimated their consumption needs.

That kind of decadent profligacy is the sign of a society that doesn't deserve prosperity. If it was up to me, we wouldn't sell "large" at all.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Not many people know this but the original M&M's ( the sugar coated chocolate ones ) were made for the American soldiers fighting over in Europe during WWII. They were issued in cardboard tubes. The idea being they didn't melt.

 

[sheeplady]

I have a mild addiction to McDonald's large unsweetened ice tea, extra ice, with lemon.

I often bring a waterbottle with me (when I go through the drive through or when I return to my car) split the cup in half and add water to fill both. So good. And like 2/3 of my liquid requirements for a day.

My huband once threw out one of my iced teas when it was down to a quarter ice (no liquid, so he thought with good reason I was finished). I was so upset, "it still had the lemon! And trace flavor! I PAID FOR THAT ICE. You threw out like 15 cents of ice and lemon slice!" (I was joking but sad I lost my drink.)

 

[Touchofevil]

Rubberneckers
So many backing up traffic to a crawl as they cross the bridges just to get a look at the swollen rivers. Not really so trivial when they cause accidents. Some yahoo thought it acceptable come to a full stop for a few seconds the other day just to take a gander. Fortunately, my horn awoke them from their moment and they continued onward. Just drive people.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I can tell you for a fact that the overwhelming majority of 32oz sodas and large popcorns sold from our concession stand are not finished by their purchasers. After every show we throw away many large containers still three-quarters full, and that kind of waste makes me mad. We make our money on the sales whether or not the product is consumed, but I get very upset at the thought that the product has gone thru a long and ardurous manufacturing process involving hundreds or thousands of different people around the world, only to be tossed into the garbage because the purchaser overestimated their consumption needs.

Sell smaller portions & if they want more they can buy it on the way out.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's all I can do not to re-sell the leftovers to somebody else. As it is, I often take the leftover popcorn home and throw it out in the yard for the animals.

 

[HudsonHawk]

BUT ... I fill that 10-gallon vessel to the top with ice and then put unsweetened iced tea where the air was. No calories, and the slowly melting ice gives that something cold to sip on for hours.

I have a friend who is driven nuts by this term. According to him, it's just "tea" or "sweetened tea". If you must, you can call it "non-sweetened tea", but you don't sweeten it then somehow remove the sweetness. He goes absolutely nuts when he hears it. Sometimes I'll say it just to get him all frothed up.

 

[tonyb]

I have a friend who is driven nuts by this term. According to him, it's just "tea" or "sweetened tea". If you must, you can call it "non-sweetened tea", but you don't sweeten it then somehow remove the sweetness. He goes absolutely nuts when he hears it. Sometimes I'll say it just to get him all frothed up.

I understand your friend's thinking, for sure, but it's a losing battle he's waging.

I'll admit to getting irritated over what I KNOW to be the misuse of "disinterested" in contexts where the "correct" word is "uninterested." And I believe most people would agree if they took the time to learn the difference. But they won't.

 

[sheeplady]

I have a friend who is driven nuts by this term. According to him, it's just "tea" or "sweetened tea". If you must, you can call it "non-sweetened tea", but you don't sweeten it then somehow remove the sweetness. He goes absolutely nuts when he hears it. Sometimes I'll say it just to get him all frothed up.

I agree with him. Years ago this wasn't a problem, they brought you unsweetened tea if you asked for iced tea.

I blame this in part on the addition of sweet tea on the menus in the north. Notherners just don't know what to do with it and don't realize that sweet tea isn't just unsweetened ice tea with sugar added, but a special drink that's NOT sweetened tea but sweet tea.

Even more aggregating is when people ask if you meant "unsweet." No, that's not the word.

As far as if this is happening in the south, I have no idea. But I know when I was in North Carolina and I asked for tea, they served sweet tea by default. I hate sweet tea (will not drink it), so I specify.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I had never heard of sweet ice tea until maybe ten years ago, when it became a fad up here. At first your choice was "sweetened" or "regular" but then maybe five years ago "unsweetened" became the term du jour.

I still don't get the "sweet tea" thing. Just another example of creeping Southernification.

 

[Trenchfriend]

No black tea with brown/white candis (rock)-sugar, in the US?