# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/663 "2022-07-25T08:53:01Z")
Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard “safeties” used as a euphemism for condoms and not only am I in my 50’s I used to work in the area of the store that sells the things. Thought I knew all the slang terms already. > [@Seanette](#): > > This thread is the first time I’ve EVER seen condoms referred to as “safeties”, and I’m over 50. I would have parsed “safeties” as either a gun part or possibly safety pins. Yeah, me too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/664 "2022-07-25T17:39:54Z")
Yeah, I think I’d have to go long on my mental list before getting to “safeties = rubbers,” if I ever got there at all. I might think it’s slang for safety razors, maybe, then safety pins (why my mind thought of them in that order, I don’t know, as the latter should be the more immediate thought, I would think), then … I got nothing. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/665 "2022-07-25T17:42:42Z")
Remember, kids: Don’t point that thing at anyone without the safety on! ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/666 "2022-07-25T18:17:08Z")
Back in the dark ages (50’s and 60’s), safeties was a common term for condoms here in my part of Maine. Safeties, rubbers or trojans were the common terms in use. Very rarely did anyone use the propah name. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/667 "2022-07-25T18:21:09Z")
Back in my days as a volunteer firefighter, we all had one in our pockets. It was called a “spring loaded prick punch” and used to break out safety glass windows in auto wrecks when doors were locked. Glass crumbles and there’s no risk of someone being hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/668 "2022-07-25T19:36:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now suet, that’s a modern mystery Ask the butcher. It’s the fat stores on the pig that are rendered for lard ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/669 "2022-07-25T19:38:49Z")
Suet is typically beef or lamb/mutton. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it used in reference to pork. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/670 "2022-07-25T19:45:57Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Ask the butcher. I did ask the butcher. He wouldn’t sell me any. It seems they considered it a health risk (and not just to your arteries). Midwestern Meats, Mesa, AZ. If anyone would know about the best fats, it expat Wisconsinites. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/671 "2022-07-26T01:05:15Z")
Oops. I thought it was porcine because lard is. So the pork equivalent to suet is “leaf lard”, and the beef/mutton equivalent to lard is tallow. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > . It seems they considered it a health risk (and not just to your arteries). Midwestern Meats, Mesa, AZ. Huh, when Bob and I made Christmas pudding, the butcher gave it to us for free (then Bob chickened out and used lard instead) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/672 "2022-07-26T02:48:01Z")
Rendered pork fat is usually called lard. Suet is from the cow. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/673 "2022-07-26T16:24:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > CVS pulled all tobacco related products a few years ago and I believe Walgreens followed suit. Nope. Walgreens still carries alcohol and tobacco. Got a lot of grief from CVS “Hey! We’re trying to be healthy here!”; Walgreens reply was “Their choice, but we’re going to push the nicotine patches and gum on them at the same time.” CVS dropped their tobacco after a number of fines from states for selling to underage; I guess Walgreens is just better at carding, so that the profit still outweighs the fees. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/674 "2022-07-27T03:13:56Z")
Whether Walgreens or C(onjugal)V(isits with)S(atan) carry tobacco or alcohol probably depends more on state or local laws than corporate policy. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/675 "2022-07-27T03:24:48Z")
No, CVS stopped tobacco products corporate wide in 2014, affecting all of its then 7500 stores nationwide. > **[Tobacco-free for five years](https://www.cvshealth.com/news/community/tobacco-free-for-five-years.html)** > [@](#): > > In 2014, we quit tobacco. > Nearly 65% of Americans agree that our decision to stop selling tobacco reduces the risk of chronic disease > > 62% of adults agree that retailers have an obligation to limit access to tobacco and e-cigarette products > > 81% of adults support improving community education about the dangers of smoking > > Statistics from an August 2019 Morning Consult poll of 2,200 adults. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/676 "2022-07-27T04:32:55Z")
Target’s pharmacies were bought out by CVS a few years ago. Because Target stopped selling tobacco products many years ago, this may have also had something to do with it. How do I know Target used to sell tobacco? I worked there in the early 1980s, and for most of that time, we sold cigarettes only by the carton. I’ll never forget the guy who asked me where the chewing tobacco was, and while I thought, “Oh, puke”, I told him that we didn’t sell it (which was true) and he pointed to the cigarettes and said, “You sell those filthy things, but you don’t have chewing tobacco?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/677 "2022-07-27T22:43:40Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Nope. Walgreens still carries alcohol and tobacco. Yeah, some do; some don’t. My local Walgreens stopped carried tobacco 6-12 months ago. I feel like others within Chicago do have cigarettes, but I’m not positive. I know I’ve seen them somewhere in the area, but it may have been a suburb. Similarly, whether they stock alcohol or not varies by, I assume, zoning laws or licensing. There’s definitely plenty of Walgreens around here that don’t have it. I know my local Walgreens didn’t start carrying beer, wine, and hard alcohol until about 10 or 15 years ago. Before then, they only carried cigarettes, of the two. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/678 "2022-07-28T23:52:09Z")
In the states I’ve lived in substantially all Walgreens locations have liquor, but in a separate store with a separate front door vs. the main store. Which I find really weird. Sell it or don’t. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/679 "2022-07-29T00:15:12Z")
State law probably is behind such things. Maybe stores that sell “x” can’t also sell alcohol. But it’s State Law, so Walgreen’s worked around it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/680 "2022-07-29T00:32:25Z")
Was one of them Pennsylvania? They’re seriously anal here. You can only buy liquor in stores run by the state (AKA, “state stores”). Except beer – then it’s beer outlets/distributors and a lot of those are family owned. At least, most of the ones I go to. In some ways it’s a pain in the ass, although it does keep the prices down, from what I’ve been told. I don’t know if that’s true or not. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/681 "2022-07-29T00:44:17Z")
This was MO & FL. Not blue-nosed at all. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/682 "2022-07-29T00:46:07Z")
Ah. Never mind then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=35)