Braindump
Just a few things that have been perplexing me lately:
Why are men's underwear sized to match their pants size, but women's underwear comes in size 5-10?
Why are adult socks one-size-fits-all? My Dad wears a size 13 shoe, L wears a 7, yet they wear the same size sock. L is comfortable in socks; my Dad can't wait to remove his, as they squeeze his feet.
Why is D-width in men's shoes standard, but D-width in women's shoes is wide?
Why do companies keep changing their packaging? I don't care that Pepsi now comes in a "cool" graffiti-look can! All that matters is the product inside the package.
Why do they make snowmobiles that go 100mph? For that matter, why do they make cars that go over 80mph?
Why don't they make a men's cologne that smells like sawdust? To me, there's nothing sexier than the smell of a man that's been working with wood!
Why is curb appeal and paint color so important when buying a home? These items are easy to change, and give a home your own style. Doesn't anybody worry about structure, windows, water heaters and furnaces anymore?
posted by tshsmom @ 3:02 PM
26 comments
26 Comments:
Aside from the sawdust cologne, you've got some veeeerry good questions! The sock thing baffles me, too.
I think I've smelled the sawdust cologne. I think I got some for christmas but it makes me sneeze.
My underwear is labled "GRANDE" instead of 36. to me that's just mean.
I've got a 13D shoe as well and those 7-12 socks just don't cut it.
Love the smell of fresh sawn wood, hate socks, and have no answer for the rest other than: Why do we, as consumers, put up with this stuff? We pay their salaries with our purchases, so THEY work for US!! Hmmmm? Now I think of it, so do POLITICIANS!!!!
Packaging changes because of marketing strategy - supposedly it keeps the product "fresh" and moving.
I would go for the sawdust cologne - some men's cologne smells like dirty bodies - hmmmm, maybe it is something only disguising a lack of showers ...
The sizing thing is awful - what makes manufacturers think that every foot that is an approximate size and individual will fit in any standardized size! Socks are another thing - how about those socks with the great big huge seams running across the toes that make ADD kids crazy?
And the one size fits all? Come on - one is a size 1 and another a size 26 - uh, right.
Why do women's clothes cost three times what men's do, yet not include pockets???
SME, what's wrong with sawdust cologne?
Hammer, I always thought 36 was an average size. That IS mean! :(
Mike, I rebel by buying generic whenever possible. I buy the product, not the label!
Politicians? I vote anti-incumbent!
Gardenia, I'm grateful that Z has a hypersensitive sense of smell, rather than touch. SME was the one that had fits over "bumps in her socks", and she's not even ADD.
Bridg, YEAH, what's up with the no pockets thing?
Canadian ladies' underwear comes in S M L XL etc.
Men's socks generally come in size 10 - 13. I know years ago, you could get sizes on either side of that but I think they stopped making them.
I think the D has to do with the actual measurement of the width of the foot - men have wider feet
Company's change their packaging so their products don't appear old-fashioned and out of style.
They make snowmobiles that go 100 mph to thin the herd. Cars go over 80 to line the coffers of the jurisdiction.
Why don't they make men's cologne that smells like sawdust? Great idea - I like leather too.
Curb appeal and paint colour are important because most people have no vision. Or are lazy. They want their new home to be "perfect" as is.
Excellent questions, all.
That last one, about the curb appeal struck the hardest, though. When we chose to NOT put a window in the wall of our house that faces the street, our contractor had a cow. He kept pushing and pushing and pushing us, 'for curb appeal.' We explained over and over that it was quiet and privacy we were more interested in. We put the closets on that wall, too, for more buffer. He didn't like that either. Once we it was all said and done, walls up and all, he loved the layout. When he saw the stained wood shingles we put on the gable and the landscaping by the wall - for beauty and curb appeal - he understood.
The neighbors have commented on how pretty that end of the house looks - they love the shingles. Sheesh. If there'd been a window there the curtains and shades would have been pulled constantly, and the street noise would have annoyed.
Curb appeal shmurb appeal.
Anyway, good post.
If truth be known, if you look hard enough, you can find larger sized socks. I consider the quest to be a hobby, and I buy many at once when I find them.
As a semi-professional house-hunter, I have to say curb appeal doesn't matter too much. Some, yes. I mean, no one wants the house they're possibly going to buy with no sod, but a rusty car, in the front yard. But inside of the house (HVAC, roof, windows) trumps the outside every time.
As a tall woman, what I want to know is: why do designers think that men's legs come in various lengths (and they can buy pants in various lengths), but a size 12 woman is always the same height??
Same here with the socks. I love the smell of fresh wood smell. Even that saw dust is good when its freshly shaved... that wasnt suppose to be a pun. the pepsi product I dont get it either. Its just like the Moutain Dew cans they did a few years ago.
The different way clothing is sized baffles me. I hate when they change packaging. If I'm on auto-pilot I don't want to have to read to see which item I'm used to buying.
The curb appeal, I think, is because we humans tend to form opinions on sight. While we can change our opinions, the original one might still color our perceptions. Or some people might not even give it a chance after they see the outside.
Obviously not all people see it that way. But we're used to tiny sound-bites and things that move swiftly. I don't think a lot of people's attention spans are long enough to get past the facade.
Jeannie, GREAT answers!
"Company's change their packaging so their products don't appear old-fashioned and out of style."
I can understand doing this with non-food items, but do corporations really think we buy foodstuffs for style, rather than taste or nutrition?
"They make snowmobiles that go 100 mph to thin the herd."
LMAO! Yeah, the people I know, who died in snowmobile accidents, shouldn't be in the gene pool.
"Great idea - I like leather too."
Me too! That brings up another question: Why doesn't Russian Leather cologne smell like leather?
"Curb appeal and paint colour are important because most people have no vision. Or are lazy. They want their new home to be "perfect" as is."
That's my understanding of those people too: shallow and unimaginative!
Cherie, how did I know that we'd agree on this point? ;)
I LOVE the design of your addition!
We did the same thing when we landscaped our yard. We planted pines and cedars on the north edge of our property. People told us that those trees would ruin our view of the highway. Well DUH! Why do they think we planted them there? Sound, sight, and wind barrier!
Mr A, you're right, but they're getting harder and harder to find! Penneys always USED to carry larger sizes...not anymore. :(
~r, I hope you won't be a professional for much longer!
Don't automatically eliminate the house without sod. Sometimes that house will have a reduced price that makes fixing the yard with sweat equity well worth the effort.
To me, an automatic deal breaker is a house with a tiny kitchen without adequate storage or counter space.
I hear ya on the women's clothes lengths! Pants are bad enough, but I can NEVER find a jacket with long enough sleeves. I'm sick of wearing men's jackets!
Tweets, I don't understand why they'd think we'd eat or drink something just because the packaging was cool. Do they really think we're that dumb?!
Squirl, that's exactly what brought this question to mind! We serve canned pop where I work. When I reach into the pop cooler for a Pepsi for a customer, my brain doesn't recognize the "new" can.
"But we're used to tiny sound-bites and things that move swiftly. I don't think a lot of people's attention spans are long enough to get past the facade."
EXACTLY! What a brilliant statement! Isn't it sad that people can no longer slow down and SEE what's right in front of them? Where is our society headed when we start losing our imagination? All most people care about are appearances. :(
Very good questions. I just want to know why men's and women's shoe sizes are different. I can live with the rest. I think cars go that fast in case you have to pass someone or to escape danger on the road? Men's underwear in Canada is labeled sm, m, l, xl.
I think the reason women's clothes are so expensive is that they will pay for it, just like hair cuts. Men generally won't pay that much. My haircut (6 times per year) is $15! I know women that will pay $150!
I'm with you on the sawdust. I love going in the lumber dept. at Lowe's just to smell the wood. I don't know why, I've always love the smell, even as a kid. I also love working around the house whenever there's time. My home in my paradise.
All good questions...it's a strange strange world...
one answer? Tube socks heh heh...
I used to drive around 85 mph between San Jose and Santa Barbara in the early 90s before Central California became an overpopulated dump. There was no one on the road and it was actually safe.
My Grandma and I averaged around 90 mph from Central Colorado to California back in the 80s. There was no one on the road so if anyone got killed, it would have been the 2 of us. She was actually faster than I was. You can go off the road and end up in the salt flats and no one will notice you for hours and by then, you may die of overheating. The desert is brutal out there.
Now, I could see MN drivers being more cautious because icy roads are extremely hazardous. When it rains, I slow down to the speed limit. Also when someone else is on the road, I slow down to the speed limit or if it's an area that has animals. Utah and Nevada had no animals and Central Calfornia is nothing but plant farms so there were birds, but birds generally don't get hit by cars.
I don't drink soda other than root beer, and they never change the packaging.
ZF, Canadian underwear sizing makes a lot more sense than here.
I've got you beat on the haircuts. I get 4 cuts/yr at $15/cut. ;)
VV, judging from the reactions here, the cologne industry is missing the boat!
My favorite section in lumber yards is cedar. I always stop in that section to enjoy the scent.
ZS, think about car speed as a "green" issue. Why are we making fast engines, when we SHOULD be developing efficient engines?
I know I'll get crucified here, but I'm all for lowering the speed limit back to 55mph. Americans need to slow down their insane, fast-paced lifestyles!
I never noticed it before, but you're right about root beer. Root beer companies rarely advertise and they never mess with their packaging. They must be secure in the knowledge that they produce a quality product with a loyal following.
Candy, oops I missed you in there!
That's exactly what perplexes me, such a strange world, and overly complicated.
Just an afterthought...after I posted I started recalling the problems encountered when living abroad in some areas trying to determine shoe & clothing sizes. What a nightmare! Also, did you know Japanese kids won't touch root beer? Claim it tasts terrible, usually said while munching on shrimp flavor potato chips. Nothing smells quite like those:)
You just never know. They might think that. Just because they make and probably buy it themselves they think the rest of the world is going to also.
Mike, that's weird about the root beer. I wonder if that's a genetic trait?
Shrimp chips can't be any worse than the dill pickle chips my daughter and hubby eat. :(
Gardenia said: "how about those socks with the great big huge seams running across the toes that make ADD kids crazy?"
That explains so much. I used to fold the tip of my socks up over my foot before I put my foot in my shoes. Drove me nuts!
Dan and I have been looking at house, and the curb appeal and interior upgrades are pissing me off. I don't want to pay an extra 30 thousand dollars just to change someone's ugly paint and carpet. ESPECIALLY, when the roof is sagging and the foundation is bulging. A few years ago we looked at a house for 109. We lost the bid, but it's now on the market again for 150. We took a look out of curiosity, and all they did was paint the outside. Purple.
Purple! WTF were they thinking?
I watch a bunch of home buying shows and can't believe the people who think wall color or flooring is a deal breaker! Those things are relatively easy and cheap to fix.
Then there's BATHROOMS! I can't believe that people would pay $30,000 to remodel a bathroom! $800 faucets? C'mon people, stop and think what you do in a bathroom.
You can always tweak a house to your tastes, but you can't tweak if you don't have solid construction!
Depends on the car. My Saturn got 47 mpg (no exaggeration) on Highway 10 from central Texas to New Mexico averaging between 75-80 mph. If you do a consistent speed and the car is fuel injected, then sometimes higher speeds are just as efficient as 55 mph.
I'm not a car engineer, but I always measure mpg on long trips to see what's most efficient.
I found no difference between 87 octane and 92 octane in my car and mpg. My car hates city driving though, and averages in the low 20s through the city.
Chevron and 76 seem to be the best gas for mpg for my car and I've found that saving money on cheap gas makes you lose mpg. I'm a generic drug guy, but I'm definitely a brand guy when it comes to gasoline because I actually measure my mpg when driving.
ZS, I always check our mileage on trips too. That's good to know about the different brands of gas. All we have here are Holiday, Conoco, and several mom & pop stations. We also have 2 Citgo stations, but I refuse to line Chavez's pockets by buying his gas! Next time we travel, we'll see if Chevron and 76 make a difference in our truck.
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