Minor things that bother you

[J N Winkler]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

Generally I don't bother with bags for single items, but I do for two or more.

On occasion we do Walmart pickup for our groceries and they'll put the bananas in a produce bag. Gee, it sure is nice of them to make sure the bananas stay together, since they don't come off the tree attached to each other or anything... 

Yeah, a banana cluster in a produce bag is a little silly.  But I always use the bags for things like loose onions, apples, and potatoes.



Regarding unpeeling plastic bags so they will open:  when it is really cold out, so that the air inside supermarkets becomes really dry, I often rub my fingers together to build up enough warmth and moisture on the tips to open bags.  It takes a little longer, but I don't want to be working with saliva inside a supermarket, especially considering how dirty they can be in their back areas.

[Big John]

Or Whole Foods where they separate out each banana as they claim they stay fresher that way?

[dlsterner]

I remember long ago actually putting a single small piece of ginger root (about the size of my thumb) in a produce bag.  I guess the bag would have kept it from falling through the cart onto the floor.

Got to the register and after weighing it cost me a grand total of 9¢

[mgk920]

Those little plastic bags at the stores, especially grocery stores, are INCREDIBLY handy as mini trash bags, among other many other uses.

Mike

[Scott5114]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

[Bruce]

I've shopped at a few grocery stores where trying to fiddle with their bags is equally frustrating,

One downside of mask requirements during Covid while shopping was the inability to lick your fingers to open the produce bags ...

Nasty.

My strategy was to simply use the water on the vegetable I'm about to pick up to help.

[vdeane]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

[JayhawkCO]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

They just weigh the item instead of a bag of said item? I guess I'm confused by your question.

[J N Winkler]

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

Around here, various categories of produce like apples and onions have PLU stickers on each unit that can be scanned through the thin plastic.  At the checkout, it is then a simple matter of scan and weigh.  Others, like potatoes and turnips, don't have stickers, so the clerk needs to be able to identify them so an on-screen picker can be used to select the appropriate PLU code.  I've had to explain what garlic and turnips are, for example (kids these days . . .).

If the produce is unbagged, then each item can be scanned (if it has a PLU sticker) and, if necessary, weighed; alternatively, like items can be grouped on the scale for processing as an unit.

I've memorized a few PLU codes, not because I routinely scan my own produce, but rather because I need to be able to tell when similar-looking items with different PLUs and thus different price points get mixed up in the bins.  For example, PLU 4131 (Fuji apples) often tends to get mixed up with PLU 4135 (gala apples).  Broccoli and broccoli crowns have separate PLUs and are sold at different unit prices some weeks.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

The child's seat is where I put jugs of milk and distilled water, whole chicken in thick plastic (if I have room), and frozen items that come in steamer bags.  The produce items likely to bruise go on a "bed" I make in the front part of the cart by unfolding the reusable canvas bags and laying them down flat.  Other produce items that are a bit more hardy, like broccoli and carrots, go toward the back of the cart.

The butt cooties thing is why I don't use saliva to unpeel plastic bags.  At our house, all fresh produce gets washed in the sink before eating, and for some items (such as green onions/spring onions) that can mean some light unpeeling to dislodge topsoil that gets trapped between layers.

[jeffandnicole]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

I guess he can put all of the same product on the register's scale, weigh them, take then off then put them in a bag anyway. Or maybe he only gets 1 of each item, where a bag may not be as important.

This is more of a "I don't want to use the bags" type of issue. If he really doesn't get the purpose of produce bags, I don't really know what to say. I think if someone were to ask about the purpose of the bags, nearly everyone would be able to answer that.

[vdeane]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

They keep produce items of the same type together, which expedites scanning, weighing, and bagging at checkout.  They also keep friable or dirty produce (like celery or broccoli) from shedding on other items.  If lettuce is rinsed and then re-packed in its bag in the refrigerator, it stays fresh and crunchy for longer.  Storing fruit or vegetable items like apples or tomatoes in their bags in the fridge also helps limit the spread of ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

They just weigh the item instead of a bag of said item? I guess I'm confused by your question.

I've never heard of produce being handled at the register one at a time, unless someone got one of each item.  And if it is one of each item, what's "remaining together"?

[Scott5114]

I usually buy something like, three apples. I take them out of the cart and put them on the belt together. The cashier puts all three apples on the scale at the same time and rings them up. (The cashier has never acted like this is aberrant behavior on my part.) Then they get handed off to the sacker. (Theoretically they could get separated at this point, but I don't really care since they'll end up back together as I'm putting the groceries up anyway.)

I suppose it's not that I don't get the purpose, as it is I don't really perceive any benefit to it, at least not enough to justify the plastic usage and the time spent bagging and unbagging the produce.

[formulanone]

I usually buy something like, three apples. I take them out of the cart and put them on the belt together. The cashier puts all three apples on the scale at the same time and rings them up. (The cashier has never acted like this is aberrant behavior on my part.) Then they get handed off to the sacker. (Theoretically they could get separated at this point, but I don't really care since they'll end up back together as I'm putting the groceries up anyway.)

I suppose it's not that I don't get the purpose, as it is I don't really perceive any benefit to it, at least not enough to justify the plastic usage and the time spent bagging and unbagging the produce.

I guess it depends on how many I can handle. If I get four pieces of fruit or vegetables, then I can usually hold them all long enough to get them on the scanner scale. That's what I'd need for a work week, for example.

If I'm buying 8 plums or 6 pears, I'll need the little bag. The latter isn't all that common, as I rarely do the shopping at home anymore.

[Bruce]

A few supermarkets around here offer little paper lunch sacks for loose vegetables and fruit. Generally works well for the non-moistened ones.

[J N Winkler]

I usually buy something like, three apples. I take them out of the cart and put them on the belt together. The cashier puts all three apples on the scale at the same time and rings them up. (The cashier has never acted like this is aberrant behavior on my part.) Then they get handed off to the sacker. (Theoretically they could get separated at this point, but I don't really care since they'll end up back together as I'm putting the groceries up anyway.)

I think "three apples" is the difference.  I usually buy seven gala apples at each weekly shop (one for each night).  And that is only a relatively small fraction of my shopping in the produce area alone.

I suppose it's not that I don't get the purpose, as it is I don't really perceive any benefit to it, at least not enough to justify the plastic usage and the time spent bagging and unbagging the produce.

For small quantities, the main benefits of the bags are controlled ripening (especially important for peaches), maintenance of freshness (lettuce), containment of shedding (not just broccoli--bundled cilantro often sheds leaves too), and limiting spread of ethylene gas.

For larger quantities, there are added benefits in terms of making it easier for the bagger to stack more fragile produce like Roma tomatoes on top of sturdier items like potatoes, carrots, and apples.

Especially in the summer, I would estimate I spend about two-thirds of my grocery shopping time in the produce area.  This list is not atypical for a summer Saturday shop:

*  Three heads green leaf lettuce

*  Two bunches spring onions

*  Eight Roma tomatoes

*  One red onion

*  One or two two-pound bags of carrots

*  Two honeycrisp apples

*  Seven gala apples

*  Four peaches

*  Two broccoli crowns

*  One garlic bulb

Except for the red onion and the garlic bulb (both of which shed, but not unmanageably so), everything either is pre-bagged or goes into produce bags.  Later in the evening, I spend about fifteen minutes unwrapping each head of lettuce, rinsing it, and then returning it to its bag for storage in the vegetable drawer.  This keeps the third head nice and crisp on the fourth or fifth day, when I finally get to it.

[tmoore952]

Some of you will argue that what I am about to write belongs in an NCAA basketball thread in the "sports" area, but it won't get generally read there, and whoever does read it there will call me a party-pooper.

I very much dislike college basketball time of year on the ESPN networks. Nothing but college basketball in the evenings. I generally try to watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption if they are on in the evenings (since I can't watch them much before 8 Eastern on any weekday), but if a game runs late on one network (say ESPN) and another game is starting they will put the other (the starting) game temporarily on ESPNNews and preempt/delay/or shorten whatever they were showing on ESPNNews, when it comes back. Very frustrating to be watching ATH or PTI (as I was right now) at 9:10 PM Eastern) and get interrupted for the start of LSU-Virgina Tech basketball because they were supposed to be on ESPN, but the early game there ran late.

In a similar vein, ATH and PTI are on less often in general because in the last few months they picked up The Pat McAfee show (2 hours long), which I refuse to watch. Tonight ATH and PTI won't be on again until 2 AM, so I won't be able to watch them.

In the grand scheme of things these are relatively minor, forces me to use my time more productively which is not always a bad thing. But it is still frustrating to be watching something and then all of a sudden it disappears and you hear "welcome to LSU" or the like. It doesn't help that I don't give much of a hoot about college sports.

[tmoore952]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

I always considered them to be protecting the fruit from whatever nasty that might be in the cart. Although, I do see the "waste of resources" argument too.

[1995hoo]

I just booked a Tesla rental car and the rental agency asked if I want to prepay for gas. 

[webny99]

I've never understood what the purpose of produce bags is other than giving you something else to throw away.

I always considered them to be protecting the fruit from whatever nasty that might be in the cart. Although, I do see the "waste of resources" argument too.

This is why I see produce bags as having greatest value for things like dill, parsley, or rosemary that are sold in bunches and used for flavor. You really don't want them touching your cart, or sprigs of them falling through the cart.

I tend to just use the cart's child seat as a shelf to put fruit and veg on, which means that it isn't intermixed with other items and thus remains together. (I rinse fruit off in the sink before eating it, so I'm not really worried about butt cooties.) The type of celery I buy tends to be already bagged before it's put on the shelf. I don't buy broccoli.

How does that work at the register?  Around here, they weigh the bag and punch in the code for the item to get the price.  At Wegmans, they even have the scales with label printers so that you can do that yourself and then the barcode on the bag can be scanned when checking out.

They just weigh the item instead of a bag of said item? I guess I'm confused by your question.

I've never heard of produce being handled at the register one at a time, unless someone got one of each item.  And if it is one of each item, what's "remaining together"?

I wonder if more produce is sold as individual units around here (especially at Wegmans) rather than in bags, such that not every item sold individually is barcoded. This might be partly inherent to the "open air market" nature of Wegmans' produce section, and emulated by other stores.

[tmoore952]

Some of you will argue that what I am about to write belongs in an NCAA basketball thread in the "sports" area, but it won't get generally read there, and whoever does read it there will call me a party-pooper.

I very much dislike college basketball time of year on the ESPN networks. Nothing but college basketball in the evenings. I generally try to watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption if they are on in the evenings (since I can't watch them much before 8 Eastern on any weekday), but if a game runs late on one network (say ESPN) and another game is starting they will put the other (the starting) game temporarily on ESPNNews and preempt/delay/or shorten whatever they were showing on ESPNNews, when it comes back. Very frustrating to be watching ATH or PTI (as I was right now) at 9:10 PM Eastern) and get interrupted for the start of LSU-Virgina Tech basketball because they were supposed to be on ESPN, but the early game there ran late.

In a similar vein, ATH and PTI are on less often in general because in the last few months they picked up The Pat McAfee show (2 hours long), which I refuse to watch. Tonight ATH and PTI won't be on again until 2 AM, so I won't be able to watch them.

In the grand scheme of things these are relatively minor, forces me to use my time more productively which is not always a bad thing. But it is still frustrating to be watching something and then all of a sudden it disappears and you hear "welcome to LSU" or the like. It doesn't help that I don't give much of a hoot about college sports.

Quoting my own post since similar thing happening right now.

On-screen Comcast TV listings saying that Pardon the Interruption is on from 8 to 8:30 (my current time), but The Pat McAfee Show is on instead.
EDIT - OTOH, there have been several times in the past week when ATH and PTI were on, but the listings actually said something else. Lesson learned -- don't trust the listings, at least as far as ESPNNews is concerned. This has been happening a lot lately, not sure if it has to do with indoor college athletics occurring in the evenings, but it has noticeably increased since college basketball (and to a lesser extent college volleyball) started.

To be clear, my complaint is about the WRONG thing being listed.

[webny99]

Uber Eats ads. Just incredibly infantile and incomprehensibly repetitive.

[roadman65]

When Medicare Enrollment has two back to back ads on TV.  The first will be a voice over announcer going over the benefits followed by a real life citizen testifying that they've called. Then the second will be actor William Devane doing the same exact commercial as the previous one with the consumer testimonials also being redundant.

[thenetwork]

When Medicare Enrollment has two back to back ads on TV.  The first will be a voice over announcer going over the benefits followed by a real life citizen testifying that they've called. Then the second will be actor William Devane doing the same exact commercial as the previous one with the consumer testimonials also being redundant.

Joe Namath looks like his health and voice have really gone downhill compared to his commercials last year. And Jimmie JJ Walker is showing significent signs of slowing down as well just in the last year.

[wanderer2575]

When Medicare Enrollment has two back to back ads on TV.  The first will be a voice over announcer going over the benefits followed by a real life citizen testifying that they've called. Then the second will be actor William Devane doing the same exact commercial as the previous one with the consumer testimonials also being redundant.

Joe Namath looks like his health and voice have really gone downhill compared to his commercials last year. And Jimmie JJ Walker is showing significent signs of slowing down as well just in the last year.

I'm amused that the advertisers assume everyone knows Joe Namath but they surround Jimmie Walker with Good Times memorabilia.

[kkt]

The caps on bottles of vanilla extract.  Too small and smooth to get a good grip.  I thought I had it fixed when it started using a small pliers - but the cap has gradually gotten bent out of shape and hard to thread back onto the bottle.