Why?

[eighty]

Why not?
Just kidding.

Here's my real question: I bought a box of hot chocolate packets at the local discount grocery store for $1.25 so I could drink something hot at night besides coffee while playing Civ3. The box sat around my kitchen for about 2 weeks. Then I thought about those packets of hot chocolate and got myself some marshmallows to go with the chocolate. Tonight I stuck some water in a cup and microwaved it to make the chocolate. As I was opening one of the packets, I noticed it was kind of lumpy. No problem, I thought, probably just a little aged like some of the other stuff I get at the discount store. As I was pouring the chocolate out, however, I noticed the lumps were little white things. (No, not maggots for all you sickos reading this). They were freeze-dried, dehydrated, artificial something-or-other tiny marshmallows! AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Imagine my horror. When I looked at the packet, sure enough, it said "with mini-marshmallows". I used the marshmallows I bought anyway, since the freeze dried things were like hard lumps of sugar that you got in cereal like Lucky Charms.

To me this just seemed to be some sort of ironic message from the universe. What do you think: does this indicate the universe has a subtle sense of humour, is it a meaningless coincidence, am I crazy, or is there some other meaning?



P.S.
This isn't as bad as the time I accidentally bought UNFROSTED pop tarts. My, but that was horrible. I didn't even know they made such atrocities! I had always assumed that pop tarts were frosted, only frosted, and no other way but FROSTED.

 

[CurtSibling]

Just goes to show you should read before ya buy!

PS
I like your signature by the way!

 

[ainwood]

I think that the product developers were one step ahead of you! Either that, or they've developed some sort of evil mind-control device and used it to get you to not see the "with mini-marshmallows", in order to get you to buy marshmallows independently. Thereby increasing global sales of marshmallows.

At least thats what I'd use a mind-control machine for!

 

[eighty]

Originally posted by CurtSibling
Just goes to show you should read before ya buy!

I think that's a further part of the irony because I usually read before I buy, but this time I didn't, which maybe is support for the evil mind control theory.

I lean towards a cosmic sense of humor as the explanation.

Under some type of quantum logic, the hot chocolate existed in the states of "with marsmallows" and "without marshmallows" until observed by the user (me). I collapsed the probability wave, despite the fact that multiple observations could have been made before me, because, for me, the hot chocolate was not in a verified state due to my lack of prior experential knowledge of the particular box in question. But, carrying the quantum aspect a step further, what, specifically, generated the "with marshmallow" result? Since there is no apparent traditional logical solution (discounting the evil mind control), a quantum solution makes (paradoxically) rational "sense" if humor is, indeed, an operating agent.

 

[Switch625]

Schroedinger's Hot Chocolate?

 

[eighty]

Speaking of Schroedinger, did anyone think about asking the cat?

 

[Damien]

It's incredible the stuffs u got there in america
We don't get all that in Europe.What do i eat everyday?noodles,rice,eggs,chocolate and bread.Not kiddin.U guys got blenders,vanilla coke etc...and wonder about marshmallows in your powder chocolate...we don't figure out how rich you are i think
AS my uncle says:"rich are flabbergasted b4 a fly f*ckin with a bee"

 

[eighty]

Yes.....

Consider how rich we are: Compared to Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia the United States ranks highest in child poverty (Source: Urban Institute). 16% of white children and 40% of black children live in poverty. (I wonder why France wasn't considered in this study?)

In 1995, there were 2 million homeless Americans. 25-40% of these work, so at least half a million working Americans cannot afford basic shelter (Source: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty).

In 1999, the richest 1% of American families got 12.9% of the nation's total net income and the poorest 40% got 13.9% of the nation's total net income (Source: The Widening Income Gulf, Shapiro and Greenstien). And this is just income. Ownership of assets is even more skewed, and has been steadily getting worse.

Sure we have money. But where is it?

I think I will enjoy talking philosophy about my discounted hot chocolate, since I can and since I can't afford better.

 

[Damien]

I already talked about this earlier sayin that 1/3 of the americans were poor n Greadius n others told me that poor in the US means average in the other countries.The facts u're talkin about are general(the 225 richest people on earth got the same amount of money as the 3 billion-3,000 million-poorest people,that is to say the half of the world pop).In the U.S.,the gap between rich n poor is very big because u guys are no great tax fans.

 

[eighty]

I tried to avoid this aspect by using comparisons to other industrialized countries. Obviously the poverty level income in the United States is going to be much higher than the average income of Bangladesh, which is about 1500 (US dollars) per capita. However cost of living is also higher in the US than in Bangladesh, and wealth is even more concentrated in Bangladesh from tyranny and despot-like conditions. That's why only comparisons between the US and other industrialized nations are valid when it comes to dispelling the myths that Americans are rich and lazy.

If you take issue with the richest 1% of Americans as a "general" fact (when it is precisely measured), expand it to the richest 20% getting 50.4% of the income and the poorest 60% getting 28.6% of the income. You could still argue that the money these "poorest" are getting is "average" for other countries, but the arguements would not be valid unless supported by studies that reveal that, suddenly, the poor of America are equal to the middle classes of the entire world.

Also, as I already mentioned, at least 500,000 working Americans cannot afford housing. Health care is another issue. Those Americans living below the poverty line have more sick days from work, shorter life spans, higher infant mortality rates, etc. etc. than the rich.

Indeed, in America, you can do anything you want. It is a free country, the land of opportunity. But you still have to pay for it.

This has taken a rather morbid and disheartening turn from applying quantum metaphysics to hot chocolate, but oh well.

 

[Archbob]

Why?

Because evil stealth ninjas are out to kill you.

 

[Rodgers]

If there are any conclusions to be drawn here - I think that this story conclusively demonstrates that you do not own a sieve

 

[Damien]

What i meant is that ur poor got blenders,etc even if they are poor.Credits are very often used in the US and many people get things with money that they haven't.The credit system make people live to reimburse which is slavery n that should be forbidden.

 

[Zwelgje]

The question that comes in my head when reading this is:
Why would you want to buy hot chocolate containing marshmellows??? Who on earth thinks of producing them and buying them....

 

[polymath]

I'm just amazed it wasn't "coffee n' dazzleberry" or "Marshmoffee" or something.

 

[eighty]

Originally posted by eighty

Consider how rich we are: Compared to Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia the United States ranks highest in child poverty (Source: Urban Institute).

So, Damien, what your reasoning points to is that, even though the US ranks higher in poverty than these comparable nations, the poor in the US have more material objects than the poor do in these nations?

And I am sure that the 2 some odd million homeless strap that blender to their back everyday (cause they don't have anywhere else to put it) and the half million or so homeless that work go to work, faithfully carrying their blender with them, treating it, almost, as tender as a beloved child, and when they get off work they run to the nearest public electrical outlet and plug that blender in and let 'er rip!

 

[floppa21]

Originally posted by polymath
I'm just amazed it wasn't "coffee n' dazzleberry" or "Marshmoffee" or something.

WTH Polymath???

 

[MuddyOne]

US poverty levels are about half the rate that they were in 1959. [Source:US Census Bureau] The method used to determine what "poverty level" was originally had some flaws though. They determined how much money was needed for food purchases, which is good, but then SWAGed that other expensenses would be 2 times that amount, which is bad. Even worse, this orginal value from over 3 decades has just been modified over the years by using the CPI, not food price fluctuation.

Of the comparision reports I have seen, they use a horrible method to determine poverty. If you make half or less of the median income you are poor. While it is easy to calculate it actually doesn't measure poverty, just economic stratification. A country where everyone made the same amount, but everyone was starving in the streets would have zero poverty. Likewise, in a country composed of millionares, the guy with only a million would be considered poor.

A good comparision would require a LOT of work. A hard definition of neccasities(sp) would be needed. For each country in the comparision, the costs for a years worth of shelter, food, and other things would need to be tallied and then look at income figures. To be extremely accurate, regional and urban/suburban/rural variations would need to accounted for as well.

I am not saying that poverty does not exist in America, just that better methods of determining poverty should exist.

 

[knowltok2]

Originally posted by Damien
What i meant is that ur poor got blenders,etc even if they are poor.Credits are very often used in the US and many people get things with money that they haven't.The credit system make people live to reimburse which is slavery n that should be forbidden.

I happen to like the credit system. It is allowing me to own a nice house, two nice cars (I have a wife), make improvements on my house, earn 1% of my purchases as free gas rebates, and get a 25 day interest free loan any time I want to. Through credit I do not pay rent to someone who may or may not maintain my residence, but instead build ownership in a piece of property that is mine to do with as I please.

Also through credit I earn interest on a bank account, investment account, dividends are paid to my stocks, and interest is paid to my bonds.

Why blame the credit system when people "get things with money that they haven't" Blame the people. They don't get in trouble paying their rent with credit, or buying food with credit, they get in trouble by buying that blender on credit (Along with designer clothes, music CDs, and computer games they can't wait for).

 

[Damien]

80,in France, 0.6% of the pop is homeless(400,000) n 1/7 of the french live with less than 500$/month.A poor is poor wherever he is.
And knowltok,this is gonna re-launch the communism thread...if benefits were redistributed,even after heavy taxation,with your wage n what's left of your benefits u could spare until u can buy your car without depending on anybody sending letters to u everyday if u don't pay.U're praising the system u live in but it's like a freed slave acceptin to work for 1$/day n sayin that it was worse b4.To,me throughout history,the landlord/tenant system always led to slavery.Communist revolts don't date back to Karl Marx,it was already there in Ancient Greece.