# "Mystery" products which don't explicitly identify what kind they are **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627 "2025-06-14T14:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/81 "2025-06-15T04:46:18Z")
I can’t find any images of them, but I recall some years ago there was a series of ads with cute animated cars aimed at women. The reason I became aware of them was because I read an article talking about how while they succeeded at being appealing to the female demographic, they failed _as advertisements_ because basically no one could figure out _what_ was being advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/82 "2025-06-15T04:57:02Z")
Those little packets at KFC that say “honey sauce” It’s really hard to read, but its not honey. At. All. Pooh would be offended. Thing is people would pay for real honey. No problem. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/83 "2025-06-15T05:02:47Z")
It probably started off as real honey. I think the proper term for this sort of making a product worse over time is “enshittification.” Happens to so, so many things. Maybe all things as corporations constantly try to find a way to squeeze another $1 out this quarter. > **[Enshittification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification)** > > Enshittification, also known as crapification and platform decay, is a pattern in which two-sided online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders. > Writer Cory Doctorow coined the neologism enshittification in November 2022, though he was not the ... ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/84 "2025-06-15T05:03:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Google tells me, ““Oleo” is derived from “oleomargarine,” the original name for the product.” Also, oleo (the term) was more a southern thing. Yet the Oleo Wars was in Wisconsin > **[History Uncovered: The Oleo Wars](https://www.sheboygansun.com/history/history-uncovered-the-oleo-wars/article_fc45a002-73d2-11ec-bb25-0f9b1a59c513.html)** > > SHEBOYGAN COUNTY — On Wednesday, December 7, 1966, the local news ran a story entitled “Dairyland’s Housewife Bootleggers”. Great title, but it’s probably not what you think. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/85 "2025-06-15T11:34:29Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Over the years, I’ve had people comment on the “Phenylketonurics: Contains phenylalanine” warning on the side of diet soda cans, and wondering if they needed to be worried about it themselves. I always guessed, even before I went to pharmacy school, that if you didn’t know what it was, you didn’t need to worry about it. Likewise the “contains sulfites” warning on wine bottles. As for phenylketonuria, readers of _Flowers for Algernon_ may recall that it’s the condition that caused Charlie Gordon’s mental disability. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/86 "2025-06-15T16:37:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Those little packets at KFC that say “honey sauce” > It’s really hard to read, but its not honey. At. All. > > Pooh would be offended. > > Thing is people would pay for real honey. No problem. - They contain honey. You could have looked it up on their [website](https://kfcmenuusa.com/honey-sauce/). Granted it’s not a lot - 7%, if you believe the internet. I would not expect any “honey _sauce_” to contain only honey - not at home, and not in a restaurant. And no, people really don’t like paying a higher price for pure honey. If you want pure honey you’ll have to go to a place that’s known for better quality ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/87 "2025-06-15T16:47:01Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > “frozen dairy dessert.” In the UK, Ice cream does not have to contain any cream at all. Ice cream with real cream in it is labelled “Dairy Ice Cream”. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/88 "2025-06-15T17:05:52Z")
People really won’t pay more for honey - there’s a reason there’s a lot more pancake syrup in the supermarket than maple syrup ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/89 "2025-06-15T17:16:19Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > People really won’t pay more for honey - there’s a reason there’s a lot more pancake syrup in the supermarket than maple syrup - Yep. Even where places have pure honey, it’ll be in smaller sizes. At Chick-fil-A, the honey BBQ sauce packet is 12g. The honey packet is only 9g. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/90 "2025-06-15T17:48:21Z")
Same deal with wasabi. High-end omakase-style sushi restaurants may or may not offer real wasabi (look for a wasabi root behind the counter). But the vast majority of Asian restaurants use fake wasabi made from horseradish, mustard powder, and green food coloring. At $100-$150/lb wholesale, one can understand why. Even in Japan, getting real wasabi isn’t a given in restaurants. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/91 "2025-06-15T18:09:01Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > There are a few vegetarian restaurants in Chinatown that are proudly certified kosher. Is that surprising? It’d be very easy for a vegetarian restaurant to be certified kosher. > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Hell, Wendy’s has labeled it’s Frosty a “frozen dairy dessert” for something like half a century now. Well, I mean, what is a Frosty? It’s too thick to be a milkshake and too thin to be soft-serve ice cream. I’ve never encountered any other treat that was in quite the same category as it. “Frozen dairy dessert” is about as specific as you can get. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > People who truly cannot tolerate gluten already know how to choose appropriate foods for themselves. The problem is that gluten is one of those things that ends up in all sorts of foods, because it’s in cheap additives that are easy to add. So just because a food can easily be made without gluten, and is traditionally made without gluten, doesn’t mean that this particular product is without gluten. So the gluten-free craze has made it easier for people who genuinely have celiac disease, at least in that way. On the other hand, it also leads to a lot of people who interact with them assuming that they’re just part of the craze, and that they don’t actually have a health condition. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/92 "2025-06-15T18:11:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Also, oreo and olio. And aioli! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/93 "2025-06-15T18:14:55Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I would not expect any “honey _sauce_” to contain only honey - not at home, and not in a restaurant. I honestly suspect that most KFC customers who get “honey” there don’t look closely enough at the packet to discover that it’s a packet of sugar syrup, with a bit of honey mixed in. They ask the counter clerk for “honey,” and I’m pretty sure that they aren’t told, “we don’t have real honey, but we have honey sauce, is that OK?” I worked on Aunt Jemima for a year and a half; most consumers just call all of them “syrup” – or, yes, “maple syrup,” and a whole lot of them have **no idea** that the mass-market pancake syrup brands have zero\* maple syrup in them, if they even think about it at all. \*- At that time, Aunt Jemima’s “Original” syrup flavor had a small amount of actual maple syrup in it, and had a banner on the label that said so. I did an extensive market research study, that showed that no only did very few people even pay attention to it, but the presence or absence of real maple syrup in that product had zero impact on purchase intent. Consumers who _do_ understand the difference between real maple syrup and mass-market pancake syrup weren’t about to buy Aunt Jemima, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/94 "2025-06-15T18:20:21Z")
I bought what I thought was a loaf of bread once but was dismayed that I couldn’t find the word “bread” anywhere on the package. Instead, I had somehow purchased a “protein loaf”. I don’t think this was related to the thing that supposedly happened to Subway, where their “bread” had so much sugar in it that it could no longer legally be considered bread. I was specifically looking for low sugar varieties. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > So, likely a good example of “if you know the name, you’re in our target; if you don’t know the name, we don’t sell to you anyway.” I figured as much. If you know, you know and if you don’t, you can’t afford us anyway. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/95 "2025-06-15T18:22:01Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > If you know, you know and if you don’t, you can’t afford us anyway. And/or “you’ll never be in the market for our product anyway.” ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/96 "2025-06-15T18:25:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I honestly suspect that most KFC customers who get “honey” there don’t look closely enough at the packet to discover that it’s a packet of sugar syrup, with a bit of honey mixed in. Even if they changed the name to Honey Blend or Honey-Adjacent Analog, people probably still wouldn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/97 "2025-06-15T18:26:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is that surprising? It’d be very easy for a vegetarian restaurant to be certified kosher. If the space has never been used before, yes it is easy. Otherwise, everything needs to be thoroughly cleaned to kosher standards. Among other things, this involves taking acetylene torches to the inner surfaces of any and all ovens. Every sink and surace in the kitchen must be thoroughly and carefully cleaned. The same for any tables in the dining area, The ingredients for every recipe must be given to the certifiying authority. That it is a vegetarian restaurant does not change this. After certification is given and posted, inspection must be allowed at any time. Inca Kola is not certfied kosher. I was confused by this and did some Googling. All the ingredients in it and the processes used to make it are generally kosher. There just aren’t enough Jews who live in areas where Inca Kola is sold to make it worth the time and money a kocher certification would cost. My beloved and I went to Taj India quite a bit. They served no meat of any kind. If it was on the menu, I could eat it without worry. Despite being in Northeast Philadelphia, Taj India was never certified kosher. Northeast Philly is a very Jewish area. I think I asked the owner about it. I don’t remember what she said. Eventually, they rebranded as Rangoli- Vibrant Flavors Of India and changed to a menu including fish, chicken, shrimp and I think goat. The recipes and cook changed as well. It is still worth going to, but not as good as was before. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/98 "2025-06-15T18:31:37Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Even if they changed the name to Honey Blend or Honey-Adjacent Analog, people probably still wouldn’t catch on. Definitely agreed. Either they don’t realize that what they’re eating isn’t 100% honey, or they don’t care. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/99 "2025-06-15T18:43:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@DWMarch](#): > > > > If you know, you know and if you don’t, you can’t afford us anyway. > > And/or “you’ll never be in the market for our product anyway.” But this is also where, pre-internet, the advertising industry had / has a lot of what I’ll term “by-catch”. Whatever that Torco sign outside Wrigley cost, a bunch (80%, 93.2%?) of that expense went to showing it to eyeballs that were not, and never would be, in the market for that stuff. With the advent of the WWW and the potential at least of targeted advertising, the amount of “by-catch” ought to be going down. I’m sure there’s lots of analytics in your industry trying to get arms around that and make targeting that actually works to deliver fully on the promise. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627/100 "2025-06-15T18:50:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Whatever that Torco sign outside Wrigley cost, a bunch (80%, 93.2%?) of that expense went to showing it to eyeballs that were not, and never would be, in the market for that stuff. “Slop,” or “wasted impressions.” Cost of doing business. If you’re selling a high-priced product, or using the ad to build top-of-mind awareness among a small niche audience, the cost may still be worth it, even if 99+% of the people who see your ad will _never_ buy your product. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > With the advent of the WWW and the potential at least of targeted advertising, the amount of “by-catch” ought to be going down. I’m sure there’s lots of analytics in your industry trying to get arms around that and make targeting that actually works to deliver fully on the promise. It’s getting better, but it’s still not close to perfect for any sort of mass-media channel (including social media). Meta, Google, and other digital media companies provide tools and data which help marketers to target better, but their data aren’t perfect, and they often don’t have good information on the sorts of demographic and psychographic information that a particular marketer would prefer to be able to use. Even if you have a vetted mailing list (or emailing list), there’s still slop, due to addresses changing, people leaving roles at companies (for B2B ads), etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-products-which-dont-explicitly-identify-what-kind-they-are/1019627.md?page=6)