Posted On: Tuesday - December 5th 2023 9:58AM MST
In Topics: Humor Inflation
Yes, these inflation posts (and titles) are getting pretty cheesy.
One last inflation by deflation observation before we get off this kick for a while. Geeze, Louise, have you looked at the prices of cheese? Yeah, well, this name brand cheese from the fancier grocery store is what I'd been getting semi-regularly a while back. Besides the many delicious varieties, there were variations in what you get in a package.
My 12 y/o noted that the number of slices varied, but I explained we'd best compare them by weight. "Those 12 slices here might still be less cheese than the 10 slices there." He got it. The packages were either 8 oz (1/2 lb) or 1 lb. The lb. packages were usually a slightly better deal, and sales would often be only on certain types of cheese. Anyway, beside prices having gone up 25%, I'd guess, selection was easy, cheesy.
Not anymore, it isn't. You may have to perform gay gestures with your fingers or mash ctrl+ on a real computer to zoom in, but you'll see that now the package weights vary... always lower, of course. There is an 8 oz package, a 7 oz package and a 6 oz package. Note that the number of slices isn't linear with weight, just as it wasn't before.
OK, how are they going to do this? Does a computer program work out the best way to fool people or at least get them on-board. I could see a pretty sophisticated program, written by John Derbyshire with his higher math background, being used. With the input of massive amounts of sales data for the various sizes, sharpnesses of the cheddars, elasticity of the Swiss*, different store chains where people are known to be dumber or smarter, 1st derivatives - changes in sales per rate of decrease in mass, 2nd derivatives... it might take 25,000 lines of optimization code written by the best geeks Bombay has to offer.
Great work, marketing gurus, but now shopping for cheese is NOT easy. Cheeze whiz, I hope, still comes in similar weight cans as it did in my day, after subtracting propellant:
* Economists say that demand for Swiss cheese is inelastic, but I say that theory is full of holes.
Comments:
Moderator
Tuesday - December 5th 2023 1:31PM MST
PS: OK, Mr. Ganderson, so not the Beverly Hillbillies. That sounds like them too - pretty funny.
Never tried, Havarti, Adam. I do like that Muenster cheese though.
I used to read CH Smith long ago, Alarmist. I'll check that post out. Thanks.
Never tried, Havarti, Adam. I do like that Muenster cheese though.
I used to read CH Smith long ago, Alarmist. I'll check that post out. Thanks.
The Alarmist
Tuesday - December 5th 2023 1:00PM MST
PS
Over here, Emmenthaler is what you’d call Swiss cheese. I has the big holes and is mild. Grèyere has smaller holes and a stronger flavor, and is also a good Swiss cheese. Both are tastier and cheaper in Europe. In the US, I tend to wait for the BOGOFs at Publix and load up on them.
Charles Hugh Smith’s recent piece on inflation BS:
https://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html?fullweb=1
Over here, Emmenthaler is what you’d call Swiss cheese. I has the big holes and is mild. Grèyere has smaller holes and a stronger flavor, and is also a good Swiss cheese. Both are tastier and cheaper in Europe. In the US, I tend to wait for the BOGOFs at Publix and load up on them.
Charles Hugh Smith’s recent piece on inflation BS:
https://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html?fullweb=1
Adam Smith
Tuesday - December 5th 2023 12:50PM MST
PS: Greetings, y'all,
I like melting a slice of Sargento Havarti on a slice of 🥰 Mrs. Smith's home made sour dough toast.
Good Stuff! ☮️
I like melting a slice of Sargento Havarti on a slice of 🥰 Mrs. Smith's home made sour dough toast.
Good Stuff! ☮️
Ganderson
Tuesday - December 5th 2023 11:27AM MST
PS
From the episode
, “The Hillbillies”
From the episode
, “The Hillbillies”
Ganderson
Tuesday - December 5th 2023 11:25AM MST
PS
“Ahh doan lahk it heah in Switzerland; the cheese gots holes in it… and Ahm a Baptist; Ah doan wanna guard no Pope…”
The Immigrants, NatLamp Radio Hour
“Ahh doan lahk it heah in Switzerland; the cheese gots holes in it… and Ahm a Baptist; Ah doan wanna guard no Pope…”
The Immigrants, NatLamp Radio Hour
https://youtu.be/GE9AQhfz2fM?si=rWMVGUAgmU7cTbP5