fast food shrink ray
If you want to slather your
Jack in the Box grub in sweet & sour sauce you're going to need to grab more packets, because as Jason spotted in this photo, the amount of sauce in each mini-container has shrunk from 1 ounce to 0.875 ounces.
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shrink ray
Many readers have reported the Grocery
Shrink Ray strike on Northern
toilet paper, but today Jack and Richard sent us photographic evidence, and even calculations of exactly how much paper consumers are losing out on.
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magazines
The latest issue of GOOD magazine, which arrived in our mailbox yesterday, seems to be equal parts tongue-in-cheek and an actual attempt to save money on printing. To be honest, it's the first time we ever made it entirely through a magazine in one sitting, so in that sense we kind of like the new format, even if it's just for one issue. Of note: if your resume sucks, you can enter it in their resume-makeover contest.
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groceries
With the the cost of ingredients, gas prices, and interest rates dropping, why are food manufacturers continuing to hike prices and shrink products? According to the
L.A. Times, supermarkets don't know, but
they're as pissed as we are.
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shrink ray
We've seen food items, airline mile programs, and credit card limits all shrink as the economy worsens. Now it's time for other
rewards programs to become just a little less rewarding—and somewhat sneakily, too, in these two stories recently sent in by readers.
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Haagen-Daze
Reader Jeff informs us that dessert giant Haagen-Daz sent him a nicely-worded email describing all the best ways his favorite flavors of ice cream will have a few less spoonfuls. But don't worry, it's really all in your best interest! Really! It's seriously to preserve the integrity of the flavor, or something. Actually, this is somewhat refreshing — at least they are up-front and honest about it. [
Haagen-Daz]
shrink ray
BUH-KAW! Tyson's five-pound bag of frozen chicken wings is now Tyson's four-pound bag of frozen chicken wings.
shrink ray
The Grocery Shrink Ray has reared its ugly head again, this time hitting Dawn hand
soap by nearly an entire ounce. It's amazing what they can hide in slight revisions of molded plastic.
lowes
A reader wants to know why Lowes advertises and sells gallons of house
paint that aren't full gallons.
Their website says the cans are "1-Gallon." Their receipts describe them as 1 gallon cans of paint. Even the stickers they print out and place on the lids say "One Gallon." But Brian notes that when he brought the paint home and really looked at the cans, "One of the labels read '116 Fluid Ounces; 3.43 liters', the second label read '126 Fluid Ounces; 3.725 Liters.'"
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14 Oz. To Freedom
Although we've been covering the unpleasant phenomenon of the grocery
shrink ray for a while, we've been slightly relieved that the shrinking products were things like
soap,
gum, and
orange juice—not crucial staples of our existence. Not anymore, according to the
Wall Street Journal: Bars and restaurants are
shrinking their beers. The horror!
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shrink ray
In an attempt to cut expenses on donuts and signage, this
Safeway in Oakland, CA. reduced their "dozen" from 14 to 12, reader Leonard discovered. We would have preferred a new sign or no sign at all. The "14" crossed out with a Sharpie simply mocks us.
Consumerist
shrink ray
shrink ray
