Things I dislike about modern society

[savarin]

Things I dislike about modern society.

As a brit living in Australia I am what is termed a “Pom”.

Most Australians think it is a reference to its convict past and comes from “Prisoner of his Majesty” but a more valid origin seems to be a reference to the sunburnt faces of the new brits looking like pomegranates.
Usually Pom is prefaced with “whinging” hence “whinging poms”
This is a reference to the 1947 – 1982 assisted passage immigration of a 10 pound fare.
A large problem was the pre passage promises were virtually non existent on arrival so a lot of *****ing and complaining went on or “Whinging”
So, true to form as a whinging pom I thought I would start with a few things I find annoying about modern society in no particular order.

1) 99 on everything. Why do most of the prices of everything today end with 99? Do retailers really believe we dont realise the real price? The one that really gets me is fuel is sold by the litre so how are fuel companies allowed to advertise prices that are not legal tender? Every price around here ends in .9 of a cent, am I supposed to cut a .1c segment out of a non existent 1c coin.

2) Sugar. I am totally sick of food manufacturers who seem to be of the opinion that sugar must be added to everything. What brain dead idiot thought it was a good idea to add sugar to beef and chicken stock.
As a professional chef who has worked in many countries we have NEVER added sugar to fish, beef, pork, veal or chicken stocks
Dont get me wrong I love sweet things (probably why I’m diabetic) but stop slinging it in foods that it doesnt belong in or do not need it. The worst I’ve come across was high fructose corn syrup in salami in West Virginia, it was disgusting.

3) Loud sound effects, loud music tracks, loud mood music in movies that is way louder than the speech often making it very difficult to follow a conversation. When watching these movies I need one hand on the volume control at all times to turn it down then turn it up when the talking starts.
Its impossible to watch some movies late at night without waking up every other member of the household and even the neighbours unless your wearing head phones then your ears get blasted into total deafness.

4) Modern packaging, its beyond the pale the phenomenal amount of packaging some food items come in. I like seaweed snacks but the amount of packaging puts me off purchasing them, outer plastic bag that holds around 6 snacks, a plastic bag around each of the hard plastic containers along with the ubiquitous little bag of silica gell.
This guy sums it up nicely.

I can keep going but think I should stop here.

 

[DavidR8]

I hear you on the packaging... I watch people put fruit (bananas, oranges, etc) in plastic bags at the grocery store.
They come pre-wrapped for heavens sake!

 

[Just for fun]

I can definitely agree with you on all points! Well, really, I have no option on number 2 as my wife is a very good cook and to be truthful, I don't cook much. The only stock she buys is organic Chicken stock.

The loud background is a real pet peeve of mine, I've tried to watch some YouTubes and the background music is so loud I can't even watch them.

 

[Ischgl99]

I hear you on the packaging... I watch people put fruit (bananas, oranges, etc) in plastic bags at the grocery store.
They come pre-wrapped for heavens sake!

I put round fruit in a bag so it doesn't roll around in the cart and at checkout it is easy to grab the bag and put it on the conveyor. They make good compost bucket liners too since my state outlawed plastic bags at checkout. But, I agree with you about the bananas, that makes no sense.

 

[chip maker]

Boy this can really get people going:
Plastic bags at the store could solve this really easy go back to paper bags or boxes,when I was a kid they had bins at the front of the stores so you could put your stuff in seemed to work out just fine and now days we could just recycle the boxes.
They keep bring up the plastic bottles for soda,milk retainers for soda etc, Simple fix go back to glass again when I was young they had a deposit on the bottles so you would bring them back to cover the deposit on the next purchase seems to work back that besides that we as kids would cash in glass bottles for some extra money .
As for the .9 c I thought that it stated with a tax back in the day but not sure. My wife always said that it was set up to sound like a better deal, 159.9 looks and sounds better than 160 she might be right.
I purchased new tires for my truck cost me more than my first 5 cars. !!!
Sorry but I give up could just keep thinking of so much that to me now days makes no sense.

 

[wayback machine]

The added sugar is the worst, I think - We have been and are being poisoned, IMHO ......
Loud noise is right up there too - I don't watch movies much, so I can't comment on that, BUT, I have learned to HATE ultra loud car stereos !
I live 1/4 mile down a dirt road, and I can easily hear the sub woofer of some jackass cruising past on the highway.

 

[GeneT45]

I was told many years ago that the .99 thing started to curb theft *by the employees*. A 'round' sum was readily paid with exact change, and if the employee didn't have to make change it was easy to pocket the cash without ringing anything up. Having to get at least a penny back was supposed to force the employee to ring up the sale - creating some accountability.

That would not seem applicable to the partial penny at the pump - but perhaps that has a different reason.

GsT

 

[RJSakowski]

Yep, what's with the little silica gel packets. Silica gel will happily absorb about 40% of its weight ib water and after that , it become a constant humidity source, It might make sense if it was inside a sealed container but oftentimes it is just tossed into a box.

 

[projectnut]

Having worked for a major food manufacturer for over 20 years I may have some insight on the packaging situation. The original idea was to ensure the customer got the exact amount of product they were purchasing, and a way to identify who produced it. As time went on the packages became as much an advertising gimmick as a way to identify and protect the product.

More recently the packages had to be at a minimum tamper resistant and hopefully tamper proof. No one wants to pick up a box of cereal, gallon of milk, or bag of potato chips and be fearful someone has contaminated them with a lethal substance. With the steady decline in the number of people in the work force a number of food production plants have been closed. Products that were once produced within a few miles of the market are in many cases now shipped hundreds or even thousands of miles. The packaging has to withstand handling at multiple points and the rigors of pounding down the road.

Perishable products are the toughest to deal with. The containers have to keep the product intact while keeping out any atmospheric conditions that could spoil them. The packaging has to be able to withstand refrigeration and, in many cases, subzero temperatures, all while pounding down the road, being handled by automated equipment, and stacked for display on store shelving or refrigerated cases.

When the customer comes to the store to select the item it has to look as fresh and clean as though it just came off the packaging machine a few minutes before it was placed on the shelf. No one wants to buy a tattered, torn or otherwise abused package of whatever the product is. Add into the mix that now most states require packaging to be recyclable. Previous versions of nearly indestructible packages may have been lighter and more compact, but they all ended up in the landfill. The newer versions may be a bit less flexible and bulkier, but at least the majority of the material doesn't end up in landfill.

Between the CYA measures needed to limit liability, the attempts to keep the product in pristine condition and presentable, and the need to recycle packaging material some manufacturers have gone overboard. In some cases I despise the length they've gone to. On the other hand, I feel confident that anything I purchase in a package at the grocery store today will be clean, fresh, and safe to eat.

 

[mmcmdl]

Having worked at Unilever for 15 years , out largest customer complaints were about the packaging and most from older consumers . Packages were too hard to open . Had QC checks every 10 minutes on torques on the caps but some over torques always made it thru . While at McCormick Spices , all bottles of any spices were shipped upside down to customers . If shipped right side up , the product settled and looked as though the bottle was less than half full .

All of our scrapped Unilever bottles ( and we had tons ) were donated to the National Parks in USA . Any plastic picnic tables you see in these parks are most likely ground down detergent bottles from our Lever plant . I miss that job as everyone else does that spent time there .