# Have you ever been underwhelmed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764 "2024-11-25T16:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/181 "2024-11-28T18:22:10Z")
That happened to me too. No significant traffic either. Got a Twilight Zoney vibe from that. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/182 "2024-11-28T18:53:21Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > For some positive holiday underwhelm, we had to go to Costco yesterday and I was fully prepared for a horror show. Ditto. We had to pick up a pumpkin pie for Cad Jr. (don’t ask) and I was ready for an hour minimum. Go in, grab two pies and no line at check out. Whuh? ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/183 "2024-11-28T21:56:46Z")
Re: horseshoe sandwiches, I’ve only ever had one, but I really liked it. It was a turkey horseshoe sandwich in the dining room of my grandmother’s assisted living facility. This happened in the late 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/184 "2024-11-29T04:29:32Z")
This is the first I’ve heard of a “horse shoe sandwich”. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/185 "2024-11-29T04:47:11Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Because by the time it gets to Colorado, it’s already half-rotted. We have to order our fish frozen from Sea to Table. Almost all seafood is frozen before it gets to you. There may be some exceptions if you live close to the sea where fisherman bring food in but the reality is the vast majority of seafood is frozen on the boat very shortly after it is caught. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/186 "2024-11-29T11:47:30Z")
Yesterdays Thanks giving dinner was horrible. It’s just my wife and I So i picked up some premade stuff at Whole Foods. This is usually pretty good. The turkey was so tuff to be nearly inedible. The stuffing indistinguishable glop. And the ‘mashed potatoes’, that was right next to the stuffing in the exact same type of container turned out to be whipped cream. Shouldn’t that be near the pies, or in dairy or something? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/187 "2024-11-29T12:36:56Z")
I live near the ocean. Some seafood, like sushi tuna, is pretty much always frozen and defrosted. But some, like lobster, basically never is. Frozen lobster is much lower quality than fresh lobster. Same for crabs. Oddly, it fares much better if you cook it fresh and then freeze it. But it’s still better fresh. It’s a mixed bag, but most of the seafood section of my supermarket was not frozen. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/188 "2024-11-29T13:16:59Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > And the ‘mashed potatoes’, that was right next to the stuffing in the exact same type of container turned out to be whipped cream. Ew! Human error? Anyway, I would complain about that. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/189 "2024-11-29T13:39:17Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Ew! Human error? Anyway, I would complain about that. I’m thinking error too. On the label, on the bottom along with all the other stuff on labels, in small black print it said ‘Whipped Cream’. I’d return it but it’s a 40 minute one way drive. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/190 "2024-11-29T14:16:05Z")
I’m underwhelmed by most big cities, but I don’t think that counts, because I never really expect to be whelmed in the first place. All big cities are the same. Anything that New York, Chicago, or LA has, Cleveland has, too; they just have more of it. Similarly, someone mentioned Four Corners. It’s silly meaningless kitsch, but that’s exactly what I was expecting, so it was kind of fun. Of places where I really did expect more, I think the top of my list would be the Grand Canyon. I mean, yeah, it’s big and impressive, but it’s not really possible to take it in. There might be some way to appreciate it properly (mule ride? Helicopter? I dunno), but if so, it wasn’t part of our visit. Second place would be the shrine of Our Lady of Knock, in Ireland (site of one of the many alleged visions of the Virgin Mary). There wasn’t any feel of holiness at all about the place. Nothing but shucksterism, and not even quality shucksterism, at that. I’ve heard that Guadalupe, for instance, is much more profound. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/191 "2024-11-29T15:10:58Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Mount Rushmore. Looked great from a distance, but when you are right up under it in the parking lot… Meh. Well, sure, but that’s because it’s not finished! It was supposed to have the bodies of the presidents, and a hall of records containing the Declaration of Independence and constitution. [![](https://i.ibb.co/qxJZBgK/IMG-1902.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/qxJZBgK/IMG-1902.jpg) > **[Hall of Records - Mount Rushmore National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/hall-of-records.htm)** ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/192 "2024-11-29T15:44:53Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I was in Bruges a couple of weeks ago and loved it. The food was good, the architecture was gorgeous, and the people were really nice. An old lady in a laundromat stepped in to help us when we couldn’t understand the instructions. Another lady in a chocolate shop comforted me when I was crying after the election. One thing I particularly noticed was a hush over everything. It was so beautifully quiet. I went to Bruges many years ago, 100% percent because I loved the movie. I was completely underwhelmed and actually pretty miserable the whole time. I’ll stipulate, a few things were working against me: 1. It was my first time ever in mainland Europe and I hadn’t been prepared for the sticker shock. Perhaps if I’d known, I wouldn’t have been reeling at “How did I just pay 14 Euro for one waffle and a thimbleful of orange juice???” 2. It was early November, and cold and rainy. 3. I don’t drink or enjoy shellfish. All that seemed to be happening in the city was a mussels festival, and signs trumpeted proudly that there were 500 different beers available to try. Tired of the drizzle and the cold and the lack of solid eating options, I found myself in bed by 8:30PM, watching _Speed_ with Flemish subtitles on TV. A couple of years I passed briefly through Brussels on my way from Canada to Cologne, and the experience was so awful that I now only fly airlines that won’t make me transfer at Brussels airport. I think I related that story in another thread, so I won’t rehash. At any rate, maybe someday I’ll go see Bruges in the summer, but other than that, I’m cutting Belgium a wide berth. It’s not even so much a case of being less whelmed than I’d expected to be, as I just had a shitty time. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/193 "2024-11-29T16:26:25Z")
Cold and rainy (at best) describes most of the US northeastern quadrant, all of the UK, & most of Europe about 1/3rd of the year. Expensive describes them all year round. I’ve certainly had terrible experiences arriving tired in some dreary city on a day where normal life is disrupted and normal eating simply isn’t available. Give in to the inner hangry. Just don’t hit anyone. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/194 "2024-11-29T18:09:15Z")
I love mussels, and i drink when I’m in Europe. And I’m okay with cold weather. I would have enjoyed that. But yeah, given your situation, that sounds miserable. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/195 "2024-11-29T23:07:41Z")
Wasn’t the container marked? Was it at least REAL whipped cream, and not just some organic variation of Cool Whip? Anyway, sorry you had such a bad experience, and from Whole Paycheck no less! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/196 "2024-11-30T01:13:59Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Frozen lobster is much lower quality than fresh lobster. That’s why they have “lobster pounds” in Maine. Keep the lobsters live in the water next to your shack, and pluck them out as they’re ordered. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/197 "2024-11-30T06:08:57Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Well, sure, but that’s because it’s not finished! > > It was supposed to have the bodies of the presidents, and a hall of records containing the Declaration of Independence and constitution. I actually found Mt Rushmore to be _more_ interesting than I expected because I didn’t know any of the history behind it, so the on-site historical exhibits and an informative talk by a park ranger were a pleasant surprise. I found the Crazy Horse monument to be less interesting; even though it’s bigger, the visitor’s center seemed to be more of a souvenir shop filled with requests for donations. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/198 "2024-11-30T12:17:48Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Wasn’t the container marked? Oh it was marked. In 12 point type on the ingredient/bar code label on the bottom. That’s it. My wife and I had to search for it. I was so disappointed, and frankly pissed off I didn’t look at the ingredients list. Worst Thanksgiving meal ever. I would have preferred Taco Bell by far. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/199 "2024-11-30T23:16:56Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > That’s why they have “lobster pounds” in Maine. Keep the lobsters live in the water next to your shack, and pluck them out as they’re ordered A hefty fraction of all “Maine lobsters” are grown from eggs to maturity in tanks in Louisville KY. In giant warehouses next to the airport that is UPS’s main hub. From there the lobsters are boxed and shipped live to wherever, commonly being airborne only an hour or two after leaving the tank they’ve called “home” since hatching. Modern logistics is not romantic; but it is amazingly capable & efficient. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/200 "2024-11-30T23:34:53Z")
Well, yeah, the actual lobster pounds (if they still exist at all) are some miniscule fraction of 1% of all lobsters sold in the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=11)