“Coneing” is a “trend” where “people” have their “friends” YouTube them grabbing an ice cream cone from a fast food place by the top of the ice cream instead of the cone. The “comedy” arises out of the shocked reactions from the unsuspecting fast food workers seeing the customer get ice cream all over their hand on purpose. But here’s a video of McDonald’s manager who was hip to the game. He totally “coneblocks” an attempted coneing. [More]
Scooter Sales Are Vrooming
By June 30, 2011
It’s not just Tom Hanks and friends riding them in the new movie Larry Crowne, US scooter sales have revved up 50% Q1 2011 from a year ago. High gas prices are helping drive the trend towards scooters, which can get 70 mpg and only need filling every 2-3 weeks, depending on your use. Plus they’re cute. But there is one key difference between this year’s boom and the one three years ago: [More]
Caesarian Births More Popular Than Ever
By December 21, 2010
Caesarian section births are becoming more and more of the thing to do in United States, with a larger contingency of pregnant mothers opting for the procedure over vaginal births every year. [More]
Have Silly Bandz Peaked?
By September 29, 2010
Now that adults are using them to flirt, it stands to reason that the shaped rubber band sensation Silly Bandz might be on the wane among its original core user group: actual children. [More]
Consumers Are Ditching White Bread For Wheat Bread
By August 1, 2010
Rejoice Michael Pollan, it’s finally happening: wheat bread is almost more popular than white bread. Consumers are increasingly skipping past the Wonderbread for healthier-looking fare that either has “natural” in the name or whole grains visible through the packaging. [More]
Artisanal Is The New Organic
By July 13, 2010
There’s a burgeoning artisanal market in the U.S., where goods made by hand or in small batches–and marketed with lots of footnotes and descriptions of quality–are growing increasingly more popular. But why, and is it just a hipster lifestyle ingredient or an actual shift in the larger population? [More]
Beer Sales Drop, Brewers Scramble For Your Beer Money
By May 31, 2010
In the past month, sales of premium light beers fell 11%, reports Advertising Age. Instead of light Coors, Miller, or Bud brands, people have been buying cheaper brews like PBR, or saving up for fancier brands. But we’re not just spending our beer money differently–we’re also drinking less of the stuff. Well, not me. But someone’s cutting back. [More]
Mercedes Shows Off New Safety Feature For Cars
By March 9, 2010
Last week, Mercedes showed a bunch of journalists some new safety features it’s working on to prevent deaths in the event of a car crash, and BNET describes them. I hope you like air bags going off all around you–the demo even has air bags for the car. Sadly, the people-scooper feature–something about when you hit a pedestrian, the car “scoops” the body onto the hood and keeps the person there, probably so that his screaming can alert you that you’ve been in an accident–will only be available in Europe. [More]
Anus Burgers Run Wild Across America’s Restaurant Signs
By September 24, 2009
We got a tip from someone today with a funny pic of a misspelled McDonald’s sign at the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, MO. We thought we’d do a Google search to see if this was old news or not. What we found out was that “Angus” is too ripe a target for word vandals, or even just opportunistic photographers, to pass up.
Recession Gives Rise To Bad Haircuts, Cowlicks
By September 1, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports on yet another casualty of the flagging economy: decent haircuts. As consumers confront dwindling bank accounts, they’re taking the scissors into their own hands – sometimes, with disastrous results.
Use Google Trends To Find The Best Time To Go Car Shopping
By July 29, 2009
Engine Industries used Google Trends to map the frequency of search terms like “used car,” “new car,” and “buy car” through Google. They found that “people search car-related keyterms most in the summer and least in the winter, with a small spike right before Christmas.”
By June 22, 2009
Walgreens says declining home values and rising unemployment are causing consumers to cut back on everything but essentials like soap and milk. Consequently, the drugstore chain is having to spend money revamping its merchandise selection to match the trend. It’s back to basics if you want to make money. [Bloomberg]
Big Shocker: Students Are Abusing Credit Cards
By April 26, 2009
Sallie Mae‘s 2009 study of credit card use shows that students just love binging on plastic. Kids these days have more than four cards on average, and most of them carry a balance pushing $3,000. Many don’t tell their parents, and almost a fifth graduate with more than $7,000 of debt. This is how meltdowns start…
Impoverished High School Seniors No Longer Able To Finance Gaudy Proms
By April 26, 2009
The recession continues to rot America’s cultural core, this time by attacking one of our most cherished traditions: prom. Gone are the ice sculptures and $1,000 dresses. America’s children are now buying dresses off racks and trading limos for the family car. Imagine!
Snuggie Pub Crawl Attacks Chicago, Saturday April 18
By February 20, 2009
In that strange hinterland between the awesome and the horrific, there will be a Snuggie pub-crawl in Chicago on Saturday April 18th. People in Snuggies – for the uninitiated, blankets with sleeves – will travel from bar to bar, leaving a trail of slaughtered pints in their wake. It’s strictly BYOS, bring-your-own-Snuggie. All hail The Warm Bringer.
So, What Did Everybody Get For Christmas?
By December 26, 2008
If America’s Google searches for the 25th are any indicator, you all enjoyed tasty meals at IHOP, went for a Christmas Day shopping spree at Walmart, and gave up on Rock Band and Guitar Hero and searched for cheat codes. Tell us what you got, and what you gave, in the comments.
Americans Stop Buying Appliances… Except For Freezers
By October 27, 2008
Consumer Reports says that despite an overall downturn in appliance purchases, one category is up 13% from last year. Freezers!
Buy Or Be Stabbed
By October 11, 2008
The global economy is crashing, credit markets are playing ice age, and you consumers have a simple choice: buy things now or prepare to be stabbed next year.
