Did you think that the Grocery Shrink Ray was a modern phenomenon? It turns out that shrinking down food and hoping that no one notices is a venerable tradition, and was front-page news in Seattle a century ago. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Arby’s Will Offer Venison Sandwiches This Fall In 6 Deer-Hunting States
By 10.26.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
In its continuing quest to convince hungry consumers that it is the meat destination, Arby’s is adding a new protein to the menu in certain locations this fall: customers will be able to order venison meat sandwiches at participating restaurants in six states where deer hunting is popular. [More]
Police: Hairstylist Used Pepper Spray On Dissatisfied Customer
By 10.26.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
In yet another example of why it’s important to be cautious when enlisting services from strangers online, a New Jersey woman says a hairstylist she hired on Craigslist pepper-sprayed her in the face when she expressed dissatisfaction with the results. [More]
Whole Foods Starts Selling Meal Kits For Purple Carrot
By 10.26.16
Mail-order meal kits are an industry growing so fast that some companies’ own staffs can’t keep up, and all of that growth depends on getting new people to try the services. Instead of selling people on subscribing to food through the mail using words and pictures, the vegan-focused box company Purple Carrot plans to start selling meal kits in Whole Foods stores. [More]
Everyone Gets A Free Taco From Taco Bell On Nov. 2
By 10.26.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Whether you were weeping with joy or sadness after the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series last night, know this: there is a free taco waiting for you a week from now, if you choose to accept it. [More]
Chipotle Hopes To Coax More Customers Back With Dessert, Better Online Ordering
By 10.25.16
It was a year ago next week that the national Chipotle food safety crisis began on Halloween, when the chain shut down restaurants in Washington state and in Oregon after reports of E. coli infection in some customers. Things haven’t been going well for the chain since then, with sales plummeting, then slowly recovering with free food promotions and a loyalty program. The chain’s sales still haven’t fully recovered, but Chipotle hopes to coax customers back with some dessert. [More]
Pizza Shop Customer Claims Daughter Received Medication From Toy Machine
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
It’s always a surprise as to what you’re gonna get when you pop quarters into a toy vending machine, but there are some prizes that no parent wants dispensed to their kid. Say, blood pressure medication. [More]
You Can Now Check In Online For A Table At Olive Garden
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Many restaurants already allow patrons to call ahead for seating as a way to avoid long waits when they walk through the door. While Olive Garden has never adhered to this option, the restaurant is now taking that idea and making it its own: allowing guests to check in on the web to save tables. [More]
This Woman’s Job: Smearing Makeup Globs Just Right For Photos
By 10.25.16
When you see a photo in an ad or on a website of a cosmetics product that’s been artfully smashed, smeared, or scattered on a surface, that’s a special kind of advertising art that requires special tools. What’s it like to smear lipstick around for a living, smash eyeshadows, and build towers of perfume bottles with a hot glue gun? [More]
Google Express Bringing Delivery Service To 13 More States
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Google is continuing its quest to take on same-day delivery services around the country: Google Express is now rolling out in 14 additional cities, including in Amazon’s home state of Washington. [More]
Brewery Revives 2,500-Year-Old Alcoholic Beverage Found In Ancient Burial Plot
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
If you thought making beer out of a 260-year-old recipe was neat, the revival of an alcoholic brew after a few thousand years is probably going to pique your interest: after archaeologists uncovered the remains of an alcoholic beverage in an ancient burial plot, a Milwaukee brewery took up the task of bringing the brew back to life. [More]
Yes You Can Milk A Reindeer: 9 Dairy Animals That Don’t Say “Moo”
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
We’re all familiar with cow’s milk in its many possible forms: in your coffee, on your cheese sandwich, in a sundae, and of course as the butter sculptor’s medium of choice. And most of us have dabbled at various times in goat’s or sheep’s milk and cheese while out to eat or strolling down the “fancy” aisle of the supermarket, but these few farm animals are just some of many mammals whose milk can be enjoyed, or at least tolerated. [More]
Truck Carrying 40K Pounds Of Delicious Cheese Overturns On Highway
By 10.25.16
We are never fans of wasted food, and so it is with a certain measure of sadness that we must tell you: a semi-truck carrying 40,000 pounds of shredded cheddar overturned on an Oregonian highway, spilling the trailer’s delicious contents everywhere. [More]
Philly Fast-Food Workers Fired After Gross Confessions On Facebook Live
By 10.25.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
After a Facebook Live video posted over the weekend showed workers at a Philadelphia Checkers restaurant smoking cigarettes in the kitchen and talking about having sex with customers went viral, the company says those employees will lose their jobs. [More]
Chipotle Reassures Customers That Guacamole Supply Is Not Threatened By Avocado Shortage
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Despite an ongoing avocado shortage that has already affected some in the food industry, Chipotle is reassuring customers that no, the chain will not run out of guacamole, and no, prices for the stuff won’t go up. [More]
Breakfast Cereals In Girl Scout Cookie Flavors Are Now A Thing
By 10.24.16
The Girl Scout Cookie marketing train runs year-round, even if the cookies themselves are only available for a limited period every year. The Scouts have been licensing their brand names and flavors for a while now, resulting in derivative products like licensed toy cookie ovens, lip balm, and licensed ice cream bars. Now they’ll be available as a licensed breakfast cereal from General Mills. [More]
Lawsuit: Bath & Body Works Portable Fragrances Can Melt Into A Leaky Mess
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Maybe you’ve been there: the inside of your car smells like something crawled into the glovebox and died. Folks often turn to scented products that can help allay some of that funk. But one woman who bought refills for Bath & Body Works’ “Scentportables” says the products turned into a hot mess with no warning. [More]
Only 52% Of Patients With Most Common Infections Receive Recommended Antibiotics
By 10.24.16
Earlier this year, a study showed that nearly one-in-three antibiotics prescriptions in the U.S. aren’t necessary, and a new analysis of available medical data claims that only half of the people who receive antibiotics for the most common types of infection are receiving the right kind of drug. [More]
