It’s not often that you can test an ad claim and find that a company is actually underselling itself. The menu at Chipotle is small and simple but has many possible configurations. How many? Well, you could eat there once per day without repeating a meal for 1,794 years. Don’t ever claim to be bored with your lunches again. [More]
Food & Personal Care
This Burger Map Of The U.S. Is Both Fascinating And Flawed
By 7.19.13
People love burgers. People love Twitter (maybe love is too strong a word; perhaps “tolerate”). People also like interesting maps. So why not combine the three into a map of the U.S. showing which burger joints are the subject of the most Tweets in towns around the nation? [More]
Dear Burger King Workers: Don’t Stash Your Hash Pipe In Kid’s Meal Boxes
By 7.18.13
Some Burger King customers in Michigan got a bonus gift in their kid’s meal — and three people are now facing drug charges — after a BK employee forgot that he’d stowed drugs and a pipe inside a kid’s meal box. [More]
CVS Will Not Carry Issue Of ‘Rolling Stone’ With Boston Bombing Suspect On The Cover
By 7.17.13
The new issue of Rolling Stone magazine has stirred up quite a bit of controversy this days due to the choice of cover subject: Dzhohkar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, tied in to a profile in the issue detailing his life leading up to the bombing. CVS issued a statement today saying that due to its roots in New England, its store will not be carrying this issue of the magazine. Update: Walgreens will also not be selling the issue. [More]
Hospital On Flood Of Deliveries For Little Girl: Yes, There Is Such A Thing As Too Much Pizza
By 7.16.13
While I can think of nothing more delightful or delicious than a flood of pizzas, a show of support from well-wishers for a cancer-stricken 2-year-old who wanted a pizza finally had to be stopped by the hospital where she’s receiving treatment. Her mother taped a message to the hospital room window on Sunday simply reading, “Send Pizza” with her room number. And boy, did the Internet send pizza. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Starbucks Employees Discriminated Against Deaf Customers In NYC
By 7.16.13
Starbucks is facing a lawsuit brought by 12 customers in Federal court claiming that employees at the chain discriminated against deaf people in New York City. The plaintiffs say they were refused service, ejected from the store and made fun of for how they speak. [More]
5 Reasons Mosquitoes Find You So Darn Irresistible
By 7.15.13 — Updated: 5.2.17
I once had a roommate casually mention that she never got mosquito bites because she wasn’t allergic to the little buggers. Hearing this, while I was grumpily slathering hydrocortisone over seemingly innumerable red itchy skin splotches caused an overwhelming and totally rational jealousy. Why me? Why anyone? Stupid bugs. [More]
FDA Bans BPA From Infant Formula Packaging (Because Manufacturers Have Already Stopped Using It)
By 7.11.13 — Updated: 4.1.14
Fresh off patting itself on the back for only approving two new cigarette products (because they’re basically the same as the cigarettes already on the market), the Food and Drug Administration is continuing to show its willingness to take a timid stance on a controversial topic, by banning the use of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in the packaging of infant formula… because packagers have all stopped using it anyway. [More]
Should An Apology Credit Make Up For The Screwed-Up Order?
By 7.10.13 — Updated: 9.8.16
Ryan and his wife wanted to munch on pizza while watching Game of Thrones, because that’s a pretty great way to pass an evening. They ordered from Domino’s, but the wrong pizzas arrived with the wrong toppings pretty late. When they complained, they received a credit for a replacement order…that didn’t replace the items they had ordered. [More]
Big Meat Sues USDA Over Country-Of-Origin Labeling Requirement
By 7.10.13
In May, new USDA regulations went into effect that require meat processing plants to label not just the original country of origin for each item sold, but also which countries that product might have stopped at along its way from farm-to-store. The rules also prohibit the commingling of meats from various international sources. But now a group of meat industry associations have sued the USDA, claiming that this rule violates their Constitutional rights. [More]
This Is Out Of Hand: Sherbet-Flavored Oreos Are A Thing
By 7.10.13 — Updated: 5.9.16
Sure, Cookies & Cream ice cream is now a standard flavor, even if the crumbled-up cookies inside aren’t officially marked as Oreo brand. What about the other way around, though? We recently learned that ice cream-flavored Oreos exist, in sherbet flavor, and we’re starting to wonder whether this whole Oreo flavor train is going a little too fast for our taste buds to handle. [More]
Golden Corral: Food In Dumpster Video Wasn’t Served; Father Of Employee Tried To Sell Video To Company For $5K
By 7.8.13
As we mentioned this morning, a video showing food sitting by the dumpsters of a Golden Corral restaurant in Florida has become an Internet sensation. Now the owners of the Golden Corral franchise featured in the clip are saying that all the food shown in the video was thrown out and the manager involved was fired. The franchise owners also claim that the father of the employee in the video tried to sell the clip to the company before it went public. [More]
Videos: Golden Corral Employee Claims His Bosses Store Food Out By Dumpsters
By 7.8.13
Buffet chain Golden Corral is feeling the heat after this holiday weekend, when a man claiming to be an employee at a GC in Florida posted a YouTube video showing food allegedly being temporarily stored by the dumpsters while the restaurant was undergoing an inspection. [More]
Crunchy Chicken Enchilada Melt Filled With Fritos Spotted At… Subway?
By 7.8.13
The way to innovate now in fast food? If you’ve run out of all other ideas, just combine something like say, a taco, with snack chips. Case in point: Subway — not Taco Bell — is jumping on the chip bandwagon with a new crunchy chicken enchilada melt sandwich topped with Fritos. [More]
New York Attorney General Investigating Walmart, Home Depot, Others Over Prepaid Payroll Cards
By 7.3.13
Though it’s been a point of concern with employee-rights advocates for years, the use of prepaid debit cards as a substitute for traditional payroll checks is finally getting attention from the powers that be, with the New York state attorney general’s office investigating the practice at some of the nation’s largest employers. [More]
Pepsi Scolded For Continued Use Of Controversial Caramel Coloring Considered A Carcinogen In California
By 7.3.13
A couple years back, the state of California declared that a caramel coloring agent, 4-methylimidazole (or 4-MEI), was a carcinogen and said that any beverages containing certain levels of 4-MEI would have to carry a warning label. With the most populous state in the nation effectively telling them to find another coloring agent, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi promised to change their respective formulas. But while Coke has made the switch nationally, Pepsi has only stopped using 4-MEI in California, says a new report. [More]
DEA: Walgreens Ignored Signs, Encouraged Questionable Sales Of Oxycodone At Florida Pharmacies
By 7.2.13
Earlier this summer, the Drug Enforcement Agency slapped Walgreens with a substantial $80 million settlement over allegations that the drugstore chain had allowed an ocean of prescription painkillers to hit the black market in Florida. Now, between revelations from the local police and uncovered DEA documents, the public is finally getting an idea of just how bad the problem was, and how much Walgreens turned a blind eye to illegal activity at its stores. [More]
Couple Asks Random Starbucks Customers To Name Their Unborn Child
By 7.2.13
The regulars at my local Starbucks are nice people who seem like they have good taste. I would probably trust their suggestions for which new Frappuccino to try, or even their restaurant or hairdresser recommendations. I would not, however, trust them to help me make my major life decisions. Like naming my child. [More]
