# Incredibly common products which the store clerk never heard of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225 "2021-09-23T21:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**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:** [October 6, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/403 "2021-10-06T23:52:02Z")
If you are an Ashkenazi Jew it’s something you have seen every year at Passover. Maybe you like horseradish and use the bottle the rest of the year, too. I wouldn’t consider any kind of horseradish sauce to be incredibly common, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/404 "2021-10-07T00:28:07Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Is purple horseradish an “incredibly common” product? A resounding “YES”! ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/405 "2021-10-07T11:41:55Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But hark! After fearing that I might grow a second head due to consumption of chemicals and GMOs, it turns out that Heinz does have an “organic” ketchup, for about $1.50 more than the regular stuff. It doesn’t have any fructose corn syrup, but it’s hard to tell how it compares with the US vs British types: I buy that version, not because ‘organic’ but because I like the flavor better. It tastes less cloyingly sweet to me. I’ve been told it’s my imagination. That is possible since I know it’s made with sugar instead of HFCS. I haven’t done a blind taste comparison. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/406 "2021-10-07T19:05:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I wouldn’t consider any kind of horseradish sauce to be incredibly common, though. I counted 6 different varieties from 3 different companies at the grocery store yesterday. Couldn’t find canned cat food, but there was horseradish galore. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/407 "2021-10-07T23:37:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I counted 6 different varieties from 3 different companies at the grocery store yesterday. Couldn’t find canned cat food, but there was horseradish galore. - You should have tried looking over by the pet food instead of the condiments. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/408 "2021-10-08T01:38:32Z")
Today I saw that my supermarket carries four different brands of apple butter. They’re between the jellies and the peanut butters. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/409 "2021-10-08T03:16:39Z")
I looked, and found two brands between nut butters and jellies/jams/preserves. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/410 "2021-10-08T04:16:23Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I know, it’s not exactly authentic Mexican Assuming you’re talking about Chili’s, they don’t put themselves out as a Mexican restaurant any more than Applebee’s as a barbecue restaurant. They have a few Mexican items on their [menu](https://www.chilis.com/menu) like tacos and fajitas but there are far more non-Mexican choices like burgers and chicken pasta. Still, no hot sauce is odd. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If we’re going to include restaurants, then Waffle House’s complete lack of understanding of what butter is or why anyone would want to put it on a waffle has to rank right up there. The Waffle House restaurants around here offer up a butteroid substance in packets with their waffles. They put some in their grits as well. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/411 "2021-10-08T04:38:50Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Is purple horseradish an “incredibly common” product? Asks **purplehorseshoe.** ---
**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:** [October 8, 2021, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/412 "2021-10-08T04:39:01Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > no hot sauce is odd Honestly, that’s odd for almost any restaurant. It’s a cheap thing to keep around that a lot of people like. I get waffle House not stocking butter. Butter is somewhat costly, and I’m sure they save a chunk of change by only providing fake butter. But hot sauce? I don’t even eat the stuff, but I find it odd that they don’t have it. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/413 "2022-01-27T03:43:04Z")
We routinely buy canned tamales (DH prefers the Nalley brand). I usually find them at Walmart, IIRC near the chili. We do live in California. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/414 "2022-01-27T03:59:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I checked the online inventory of one of the largest grocery chains here in Canada. If “Heinz Simply” Look for “[no sugar added](https://www.amazon.com/Heinz-Tomato-Ketchup-Reduced-Sugar/dp/B00HYR3GVW/ref=asc_df_B00HYR3GVW?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608037882794&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584207584141145&psc=1)” instead of simply. I’ve been buying it exclusively for 2 years here in the northeast of the US. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/415 "2022-01-27T15:14:19Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > …here in Canada where multiple hot sauces on the table is not necessarily a thing Yeah, we’re just over the border from Canada, and I’m often surprised by the way hot sauce options have flourished in the past decade. Now, even at our local ‘greasy spoon’ diner, if you ask you get “Yeahwhatchawant? We got Frank’s, Tabasco, Tapatio, Texas Pete’s, sumpthin called Acetylene, that one with a rooster, and Chahoolio.” Even if they can’t pronounce it, they’ve at least got it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/416 "2022-01-27T16:50:18Z")
At Lowes, the employee in the lumber dept. didn’t know what beadboard is. Explaining it’s decorative paneling used for wainscoting didn’t ring a bell for him either. I can imagine that it’s not an everyday term for the average bear but it shouldn’t be a foreign term to someone in the lumber dept. of a home improvement store. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/417 "2022-01-27T16:58:22Z")
Not a store, or a product, but when I was briefly working as a courier the front desk security person at an office building once would not let me go past because she didn’t understand the word “courier.” I walked in, said, “I’m a courier, going to office 11-C!” and started to go toward the elevator but she stopped me. “You’re a what?” “Courier. Just dropping this package off.” “What’s a ‘currier’?” I spent 3 entire minutes trying to explain it to her. I think she may have been fucking with me. Or was just a complete moron. Either way, I gave up. I handed her the envelope and said, “Your problem now” and walked out. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/418 "2022-01-27T17:08:20Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > What’s a ‘currier’? Someone who makes curry? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/419 "2022-01-27T17:58:50Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I was briefly working as a courier My step son works as a courier. He has a cool sign hat reads something like, “Live medical specimen pickup” that he can place on the dash and double park. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/420 "2022-01-27T18:08:46Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > My step son works as a courier. He has a cool sign hat reads something like, “Live medical specimen pickup” that he can place on the dash and double park. Man, I used to do some truly horrific stuff when I had that job. The attitude was, “as long as the hazards are on, I can park anywhere!” I got paid by the delivery, and I knew I had to make a certain number of deliveries a day to make what I needed, and I just didn’t care about pissing off strangers. I double-parked, I parked in alleys, I parked in loading zones, I parked in driveways; more than once I literally just got out of the car in the middle of traffic and ran into a building to drop off a package. Took about 90 seconds each time, but to everyone stuck in their cars behind me, I’m sure that was an _eternity_. Sorry! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/421 "2022-01-27T20:07:35Z")
I just bought a weed whip here in Vermont last spring. They’re still around. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/422 "2022-01-27T20:10:43Z")
The problem I had was looking for turnips all over town and finding the bin marked turnips, at all three stores, full of rutabagas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=22)