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30 People Shared Which Grocery Store Items They Cannot Believe People Actually Purchase
Most people probably try to concentrate on their checklist or what to make for lunch when grocery shopping, yet sometimes they can’t help but spot something they see no purpose in or think they would never pay for themselves.
Naturally, though, as pointed out by some commenters, it is mostly about people’s preferences, yet others may still have questions about the purpose, price, or impact on health, which in some cases has a very informative explanation, as with pre-chopped vegetables, given by this Redditor.
Do you have something to add? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Douches and perfumed vaginal products. Please, please do not use them!! vaginas are self-sufficient cleaning machines! scent and mucus changes are completely normal and change with hormones and menstrual cycle phases. if there is a health concern or you aren't sure, please just visit a doctor. and for the love of god, disposable pads and tampons are iffy enough but DO NOT get scented ones! your flower does not need to SMELL like flowers lmao
This should be way, way higher! A healthy “clam” smells, generally, lightly briny outside of period time. The mucus discharge should be semi-opaque whitish. Strong, unpleasant odour; discoloured (yellow, grey) &/or excessively thick discharge; anything unusual for *you* that persists for more than a week, go to the doctor. Also, don’t wash inside; not even with just water. The vagina is self-cleaning. You need the mucus barrier to protect against bacteria and fungal infections.
Thinking of opening a grocery store for singles, where you can buy only the amount you actually need of a food item. A single clove of garlic, 2 scallions, 2 carrots, a cup of rice, 2 eggs, etc…. It’s crazy how much food gets thrown out because it gets funky before you can use it. Of course, this place would also have a coffee bar, serve local brews, wines & tapas & have local art and be open till 1 am….maybe some live local music…what do you think?
I would 100% go for this! People have said, “why don’t you just cook a full batch and freeze in single portions for the rest of [whatever]?” I don’t want to eat the same thing for the next x days. My freezer is relatively small, there would be no room for much on top of the frozen fruit, veg, bread and ice cream, etc. I keep in there. I know I’m privileged to be able to afford good food but it still annoys me having to throw out rotting food because I can’t get through it fast enough. Some food just doesn’t freeze well; lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers... all come out discoloured and soggy 🤮.
It’s worthwhile to consider that a lot of items you see in the grocery store as a useless markup for something someone could do themselves (eg, shrink wrapped potatoes, already peeled hard boiled eggs in a bag) are convenience items for people who do not have the time to cook 100% from scratch for themselves or their families, and/or they are someone with a disability and that item helps ease a burden.
I used to work in the produce section of a grocery store, and we sold these pre-chopped up vegetables. They were annoying to stock, sold out fast, and had fast expiration dates, so us employees didn’t really love those items in our department. I got to talking with a woman who was purchasing them one day though. She said they were for her elderly mother who struggles to chop vegetables up, and the already chopped vegetables allowed her to actually still make fulfilling meals the way she wanted. Working there for longer I interacted with more people buying them for the reasons stated, convenience when they don’t have time and disabilities.
Empathy goes farther than you’d think.
I'm having more mobility issues with my hands, especially the inability to chop or slice without cutting myself. So in December I ordered one of those choppy gadgets with the grid to press veggies through, plus all the blades to julienne, etc. It's all packaged wiith slots and compartments for the blades and accessories, but being molded plastic there's NO way to put everything back where it came from without slicing yourself to ribbons. I can't even take the pieces out of the container, let alone assemble them to prepare a meal. I'm terrified of the thing! Those pre-prepared veggies are looking mighty good.
I used to think shredded lettuce was stupid because can’t everyone just shredded their own lettuce!? But now that I’m paralyzed on my left side after a stroke caused by a brain bleed, that shredded lettuce may come in handy for sandwiches and wraps that I always shredded lettuce for.
One day, when I was like 38, I was at the grocery store looking at these little tubs of cubed butternut squash.
I was standing there for a minute thinking, “okay. If I’m gonna have (x) tonight and (y) tomorrow, will the squash still be good the next day, or should I come back and buy it fresh the day I wanna eat it?”
The adolescent who worked in the produce department came over and stood next to me, mimicking the way I was standing until I finally looked right at him.
Then I reached for a container of squash and turned it over to look at the date. He pulled out some handheld machine and started punching numbers in, then exclaimed, “look at this!”
He talked at me for a good three minutes about how the whole butternut squash is cheaper, including showing me some calculations.
When he finally came up for air, I just said “right but I have tendinitis in my wrist so unless you’re going to come cut it for me, I can’t actually use a whole butternut squash.”
A lot of you strike me too much like that dude.
Butternut squash also secretes a substance that, for some people, coats their hands while peeling said squash in a way that mimics superglue (cyanoacrylate). It's annoying, hard to clean off and gross. I love butternut squash, but every time I'm tempted to buy a whole one I remember how awful my hands felt and...nope.
The dairy aisle has sticks of pre-made *butter*. Doesn't anyone churn anymore?
A lot of people in this thread are not realizing that some people are disabled and simple stuff like cutting vegetables is not something they can do or do easily.
Egg yolk in pourable cartons, pre-cut veggies/fruits, pre shelled hard boiled eggs, pre-seasoned meals you put in the oven-it’s not meant for you.
Canned whole-chickens. An entire chicken in a can the size of a soup can. That ain’t right
As a transplant in Southern Appalachia I cannot get over the appalling amount of soda people will have in their carts. So. Much. Mountain Dew.
Dew has an incredible amount of caffeine, the most of any soda. A lot of people are addicted to it.
Canned mackerel. I bought some to bait a trap for feral cats (for a trap, neuter, return program.)
The smell is indescribably awful, except to say that it absolutely would knock a vulture off a manure wagon.
Feral kitties gave it two paws up, though!
I remember back in the late 1980s I'd wander the canned food aisle (I was trying to lose weight, so I'd walk to the grocery store, buy a couple of cucumbers and tomatoes and sometimes canned white chicken chunks to go along with them. Anyway I always saw these tiny cans of Potted Meat Food Product on the shelf and wondered what the heck it was. Curiosity eventually got the better of me and I bought a can (it was only about 40 cents at the time). Well, it was all you would expect and less from a 40 cent can of "meat"....looked sort of like a mushy liver-colored hockey puck, smelled like cat food. (The serving suggestion on the label showed it being spread on a cracker with a parsley sprig. Maybe the missing parsley was the reason the stuff tasted like Satan's jockstrap when I actually tried it...)
S’mores kits for $10 or more. Why?? Just buy the chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows separate. It’s cheaper and you’ll get way s’more.
Cans of "Pig brains in gravy."
Canned escargot (snails) in dollar stores.
I just imagine that in a venn diagram of ‘people who buy ingredients from the dollar store’ and ‘people who prepare and cook their own escargot’, there wouldn’t be a lot of overlap, no? 🤷🏻♀️
I have been very hungry before but I've never been eat a snail hungry.
Anything with politicians' faces, or names, on it.
I get a good laugh from all the "Made in China" Trump c**p. My 'Murica coworker loves wearing his Let's Go Brandon hat to work. "Made in People's Republic of China." Haha.
4 cobs of corn, individually wrapped in plastic, set onto a foam tray which is also wrapped in plastic.
Corn come conveniently wrapped in an easily removable husk. Single ears, perfect for one person. It amazing
Single shrink-wrapped potatoes.
These are specifically for the microwave. The plastic serves a purpose.
The racks of tabloids, usually next to the checkout.
I remember just after Trump was inaugurated, one of the US tabloids by the register read something like "Finally, dignity restored to the White House." Talk about your thinly-veiled racist comment! Nobody could say the Obamas were not dignified with a straight face unless they just simply can't see anyone with African ancestry as ever being dignified. I was never a HUGE fan of Obama, but I wrote to the store and asked them to stop carrying that tabloid. I knew they wouldn't stop, so I also asked them to at least move them to the magazine aisle so they wouldn't be so noticeable to kids.
two peeled Clementines in a plastic clamshell.
$4.19
You can get a 3lb bag for $4, and they practically fall out of their peel.
I paid $12 for watermelon juice. It just looked so good. It was. But normally I would be like, what's wrong with that person?
My nearest grocery store sells three different kinds of vibrators right on the medicine aisle.
I cannot believe having the guts to go through check out with your groceries and having a supermarket vibrator next to your broccoli and potatoes
I'd make sure I also bought a large can of crisco and a comically large cucumber. I'd never break eye contact either
For real, sometimes I stand in the grocery store aisle like, "People actually buy this?" Top of the list has to be canned bread. Who even knew bread needed a can? It's like they're trying to preserve the mystery of how bread is born.
My brother once texted me a picture of peeps flavored Pepsi. I don't mind peeps, but that combination just sounds odd
Liquid death. Why are you paying so much for water?
I thought it was some kind of aspartame energy drink at first glance, tbh.
I think it's for insecure men who don't want to look soft while drinking water while their friends are drinking beer.
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First time I saw this I assumed it was an art project and thought it was brilliant. It still makes me laugh. I have a very bitter sense of humour.
We saw it at a discount store for $0.50/can, and we were on the road, so of course we bought a few cans. They larger than a normal can, cheap, and recyclable. The cans were hilarious!
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Maybe so, but have you tried the severed limb?
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I thought those were energy drinks with a crazy amount of caffeine. My kid says that's the edgiest flavoured water she didn't know what possible.
Liquid Death is packaged and made to look like beer cans so people who are non-drinkers or recovering alcoholics can have a drink that looks like a beer but isn't so they don't attract attention to themselves at parties and other social events. They're paying for not having to answer nosey questions or have people pressure them into drinking.
I thought this was so people could go out, have water, and not be hassled by people going dOn’T BE sUcH A BaBY HaVe A PrOPeR DriNK
I saw a TV ad for this, was trying to make out what it was, as the ad never mentioned water !
What people don't understand is that most bottled water is just tap water in the area of the bottling company.
Apart from its marketing, Liquid Death has another competitive advantage: sustainability. Whereas many water brands use ecologically damaging plastics that clog our oceans with a glut of microplastics, Liquid Death's aluminum cans can be recycled an infinite number of time
Wow! Second time I'm seeing this and it's in the same week. I went to a comedy show last week and ordered water. The server brought me this. Immediately, my friend and I were like no...I ordered water, not whatever that is. She assured us it was water. Looked like a caffeine-laden drink akin to Red Bull. My friend thought it was one of those high volume alcohol mixed drinks. Tbh, it was kind of weird drinking water out of a can. Tasted fine, it was just odd. I can't explain why.
Why the ridiculous name? Is just drinking water not manly enough for some people?
$6.50 cent boxes of cereal when the one right next to it is on sale for $1.99 that week.
Or name brand pasta.
While not a grocery product it's something commonly stocked at grocery stores: any matte-black clad product designed as a "for men" product (labeled with the word/s "Men's" or "For Men" on the label) that isn't different from the normal product besides the packaging.
$6 bag of M&M's that look like they have 10 pcs. in them.
As much as I try to eat healthy stuff, Winco has a bulk section where I can buy $0.62 of Reese's Peices or $14.00 worth of oatmeal. I love it.
Bubblegum flavored chips. I haven't seen them in a while but according to google they are still produced and sold. The same company also makes bubble gum flavored ice tea, which I tried, it was okay
Frozen hot dogs in a bun
Cheetos Mac and cheese.
** edit
Bought my kiddo a box when it first came out cuz he just had to have it. It was just such a crazy shade of orange. I felt like a bad mom for letting him eat it.
I work in retail filling online pickup orders, so I get to see firsthand what people buy. The majority of people seem to be either very conscious of eating healthy, or totally don't care what they eat. As someone already mentioned, the amount of soda some people drink is just mind-blowing, but I think there are lots of people who have no clue about the amount of sugar in some sodas.
Also, some items like bacon and egg breakfast bowls contain a ridiculously high amount of fats and calories, but those are really popular with some people. Same with frozen pizzas.
During the course of my job I'm able to read nutrition labels, and it's appalling how unhealthy so many foods are, and yet they fly off the shelves. It's not surprising at all that 60% of Americans are overweight.
Unless it’s a milkshake, I find you forget that what you drink has calories, if it’s not plain water. I lost 25lbs in one year (years ago) when I gave up drinking sodas and other high calorie beverages. Now I only have a glass of soda or a milkshake as a once in a while treat—-and now the carbonation of sodas bothers me plus they don’t quench my thirst, and I also have trouble even finishing a milkshake before I start feeling overly full (you know, that really uncomfortable—-on the verge of feeling sick—-overly stuffed feeling when you had just one bite too many).
Name brand canned goods. Why anyone would buy hunts brand canned tomatoes when the store brand tastes the same for a lot cheaper is beyond me
Those tiny cups of scramble fixings that you have to add your own egg to.
Overnight oat cups - the ones where you have to add your own milk and yogurt
Black licorice - I get that there are people who like it, but it seems like there is an awful lot in the stores, based on how few people claim to like it.
Toilet gel stamps the ones in individual plastic containers. So much waste!
Edited: Thanks for sharing reasons you buy these items. Totally makes sense!
Banana ketchup. It’s actually not bad. I was disgusted at the thought but on fries it’s sweet and yummy to add into other sauces.
Jungle Jim’s in Ohio will sell a whole pigs head right out in the case. You don’t even have to ask the butcher it’s right there in the pork section. Just looking at you.
The original ancestor(s) of ketchup had no tomatoes in it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup#Etymology
Expensive furniture. Who is buying a sectional couch on a whim at Fries?
I think I was an adult before it occurred to me that there might actually be people who bought the Twinkies and other related cakes. I'm in my 40s and I've still never seen anyone buy them, but they've got to be taking up shelf space for a reason, right?
Eel loaf lunch meat — basically baloney (bad enough) but made from Eel meat.
Pre-crushed graham crackers. And I’m not talking about a premade pie crust. Literally just a tub of crumbs.
Hard boiled eggs are a great purchase when on a road trip. I would not buy them for home.
They are handy for an emergency egg sandwich when you get busy and forget to eat. Suddenly brain says, "oops, hungry here, want egg." Slice a couple onto mayonnaised bread (how can you butter bread with mayonnaise? You butter butter, so in the same way you can mayonnaise mayonnaise), and as they say, "Viola! Lunch." (I know it's 'voila', but if you said "Viola, you'd have to make two sandwiches, one for you and one for Viola. But you don't want to get mayonnaise on your viola.
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I often slag off the BP editors for inappropriate images to accompany a story, but kudos to them for finding so many images of obscure items (at least to Australians) to go with the entries in this thread
'Pancake mix' sold at high price to which you need to add milk and egg (this is in the UK so by pancake we mean crêpe-style). So, flour then?
Someone downvoted this? Cannot imagine what they took offence at. Yes, powdered mixes for baked goods that 'just' need eggs and milk do seem ridiculous, but in fact there are a number of important ingredients added to the flour, and done so in such a way that it doesn't need as much time whisking and/or standing before use. That's the theory at least, I've never actually tried them.
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I would probably say bottled water if you live in an area where the tap water is safe and regularly tested. It's just wasting plastic.
Quite so. I'm astonished by the number of our guests that buy bottled water here in the Swiss Alps. The stuff coming out of the tap is coming from essentially the same place as the stuff draining down the other side of the mountain to be bottled about 20km away as Evian Water, honestly they'd be better off bringing empty bottles to fill here and take home with them.
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As a single, I like by-the pound salad bars. I don't buy lettuce or dressing that way, but a lot of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Just enough for me for a couple of days. I get a large selection without having to buy a dozen different things that will go bad before I use it all.
Many of the comments are keen to point out that some of these things are convenience foods great for people with disabilities, but they are neither the intended nor the actual market for most of them. Probably >90% of people buying, say, pre-grated cheese are just doing so because they're too lazy to grate their own.
dutch supermarket Albert Heyn sells apple juice from concentrate... with extra water. It says "Apple juice with an extra splash of REFRESHING WATER" because you cant buy regular applejuice from concentrate and just add water yourself.
When I worked part-time, I had to constantly buy and cook my own meals to save money. But when I started working full-time, it was cheaper to just buy a prepred meal and then eat it in portions over a few days. With rising grocery prices, it's often the cheaper option now. It also causes less waste.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say, are you taking about how a lot of these are intended for/really good for disabled people? Or are you talking about cultural differences? Or both maybe
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I'm a pastry chef and already spend too much time in a kitchen. If I want something that makes dinner easier, I'm buying it.
What about F4ggots? https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/282049626
OMG from the producer's name, to the two paragraphs of product description it's like one long innuendo
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Shelf space in groceries is monetized, and the store will only stock what people will buy or the vendor will pay for. and the vendor will not pay for shelf space unless the product is purchased enough.
Just curious (not sure anyone will even see this), but why is this on the BP homepage today (1/30), yet every comment says 3 days ago? Here I am, clicking on something I thought was new. Where was it for the past 3 days?
An article sharing helpful & convenient(well maybe not all on the list)choices for people who need it.
1st world problems from whiney 1st world people. I couldn't make it all the way through on this post. Something about privileged white people complaining makes me groan. AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHICKEN IN A CAN...YA'll eat chicken soup from a can , yersh.
One of the oddest things I've seen sold is 2.5lb cans of powdered cheese. They exist, and they're... not bad? I mean it's basically the same as what they put in boxed mac and cheese sold in bulk.
My cousin was dating a girl who had bought some overpriced deviled eggs from the grocery deli and he told her that it was overpriced since they are pretty easy to make. He made some for the next time she came over and she was blown away that he could make such good deviled eggs :D I guess she grew up in a house where they rarely cooked.
I often slag off the BP editors for inappropriate images to accompany a story, but kudos to them for finding so many images of obscure items (at least to Australians) to go with the entries in this thread
'Pancake mix' sold at high price to which you need to add milk and egg (this is in the UK so by pancake we mean crêpe-style). So, flour then?
Someone downvoted this? Cannot imagine what they took offence at. Yes, powdered mixes for baked goods that 'just' need eggs and milk do seem ridiculous, but in fact there are a number of important ingredients added to the flour, and done so in such a way that it doesn't need as much time whisking and/or standing before use. That's the theory at least, I've never actually tried them.
Load More Replies... I would probably say bottled water if you live in an area where the tap water is safe and regularly tested. It's just wasting plastic.
Quite so. I'm astonished by the number of our guests that buy bottled water here in the Swiss Alps. The stuff coming out of the tap is coming from essentially the same place as the stuff draining down the other side of the mountain to be bottled about 20km away as Evian Water, honestly they'd be better off bringing empty bottles to fill here and take home with them.
Load More Replies... As a single, I like by-the pound salad bars. I don't buy lettuce or dressing that way, but a lot of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Just enough for me for a couple of days. I get a large selection without having to buy a dozen different things that will go bad before I use it all.
Many of the comments are keen to point out that some of these things are convenience foods great for people with disabilities, but they are neither the intended nor the actual market for most of them. Probably >90% of people buying, say, pre-grated cheese are just doing so because they're too lazy to grate their own.
dutch supermarket Albert Heyn sells apple juice from concentrate... with extra water. It says "Apple juice with an extra splash of REFRESHING WATER" because you cant buy regular applejuice from concentrate and just add water yourself.
When I worked part-time, I had to constantly buy and cook my own meals to save money. But when I started working full-time, it was cheaper to just buy a prepred meal and then eat it in portions over a few days. With rising grocery prices, it's often the cheaper option now. It also causes less waste.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say, are you taking about how a lot of these are intended for/really good for disabled people? Or are you talking about cultural differences? Or both maybe
Load More Replies... I'm a pastry chef and already spend too much time in a kitchen. If I want something that makes dinner easier, I'm buying it.
What about F4ggots? https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/282049626
OMG from the producer's name, to the two paragraphs of product description it's like one long innuendo
Load More Replies... Shelf space in groceries is monetized, and the store will only stock what people will buy or the vendor will pay for. and the vendor will not pay for shelf space unless the product is purchased enough.
Just curious (not sure anyone will even see this), but why is this on the BP homepage today (1/30), yet every comment says 3 days ago? Here I am, clicking on something I thought was new. Where was it for the past 3 days?
An article sharing helpful & convenient(well maybe not all on the list)choices for people who need it.
1st world problems from whiney 1st world people. I couldn't make it all the way through on this post. Something about privileged white people complaining makes me groan. AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHICKEN IN A CAN...YA'll eat chicken soup from a can , yersh.
One of the oddest things I've seen sold is 2.5lb cans of powdered cheese. They exist, and they're... not bad? I mean it's basically the same as what they put in boxed mac and cheese sold in bulk.
My cousin was dating a girl who had bought some overpriced deviled eggs from the grocery deli and he told her that it was overpriced since they are pretty easy to make. He made some for the next time she came over and she was blown away that he could make such good deviled eggs :D I guess she grew up in a house where they rarely cooked.
