# Products which are surprisingly hard to find **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800 "2007-03-06T12:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/101 "2007-03-20T17:45:58Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] If you can’t find any coral jewellery, apparently jade is the “modern” gift for 35th anniversaries. [This list](http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/005genref/giswedding.html) is one of several similar lists I found by Googling “wedding anniversary gifts”. [/QUOTE] We have now found some coral jewellery from a local shop. They had a pendant in stock and managed to source a pair of matching earrings. But thanks \*\*Mirror \*\ ***Image egamI rorriM** for the Ebay link . ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/102 "2007-03-23T14:02:28Z")
[QUOTE=Missy2U] [http://www.smuckers.com/fg/pds/default.asp?groupid=1&catid=6&prodid=45](http://www.smuckers.com/fg/pds/default.asp?groupid=1&catid=6&prodid=45) Here you go, ParentalAdvisory. Use the find a flavor button - I checked a bunch of zip codes in our area, and it’s around. 🙂 I know, I know - Missy, get a life. [/QUOTE] Cool, thank you! Many in family will appreciate this very much. ---
**Author:** ![ignorant\_but\_learning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc348/32.png) [@ignorant\_but\_learning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignorant_but_learning)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/103 "2007-03-24T03:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] I have an inexpensive cross which hangs on a cord. The cord is old and dirty, and I want to replace the cord with something similar. It’s blue and rope-like, like a thick string. I cannot find a replacement anywhere. Jewelery stores have nothing even vaguely similar. Craft stores have beading string, which is much thinner than what I want, and leather thongs, which are about the right thickness, but would probably be more expensive than the cross itself. I cannot believe that I’m having such a hard time finding a stupid cord. I’m going to try a sporting goods store, to see if I can find a lanyard (for a whistle or stopwatch or something) that might work. I also have a hell of a time finding birthday and Christmas cards for my sister. I can find appropriate cards for my mom, dad, and brother without any trouble, but cards for “sister” are, almost without exception, made assuming that the sender is a woman. If it doesn’t say something like, “I’m so glad we’re sisters,” then the drawing will inevitably show two women. It’s not that they don’t make cards for men. There are tons of cards for guys to send to their parents, and it’s not hard to find cards for bothers, but the greeting card makers seem to think that it’s inconceivable that I’d want to wish my sister well. I always end up getting her a generic “For Anyone” card. What items do you guys have trouble locating? What items are there that, to your mind at least, should be easy to find, but in reality are about as easy as trying to find proof of Bigfoot? [/QUOTE] Do you know any boatsmen, or navy people. or a rigger on a construction site? There is a knot or splice they may know how to do on some good shoe laces or something like that, if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Knot called "rolling an eye, which will braid the end into the middle of a piece of rope to make a noose without knots.. probably the same knot would braid two ends into a circle-- maybe some macrame` person at a craft store can help you! Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/104 "2007-03-24T04:58:28Z")
Brazil nuts. I search the nut sections of most stores and never find them. I have found them online, which is fine, but I am not going to drive many many miles to Whole Foods to obtain them. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/105 "2007-03-24T07:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] Brazil nuts. I search the nut sections of most stores and never find them. I have found them online, which is fine, but I am not going to drive many many miles to Whole Foods to obtain them. [/QUOTE] What is unobtainable now is brazil nuts in shells. These disappeared a couple of years ago due to health fears over (I think) toxins in the shells. But round here there are plenty of the shelled sort available, especially in health-food shops. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/106 "2007-03-24T16:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] What is unobtainable now is brazil nuts in shells. These disappeared a couple of years ago due to health fears over (I think) toxins in the shells. But round here there are plenty of the shelled sort available, especially in health-food shops. [/QUOTE] Yes, I look only for the shelled kind. I could try a health food store and see if they are there. The grocery stores and Trader Joe’s don’t have them individually; they only show up in the mixed variety and then only some of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/107 "2007-03-24T16:48:49Z")
I’ve been looking for a copy of DC Comics’s Superdictionary (also affectionately known as the Supercracktionary) forever… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/108 "2007-03-24T20:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] Seems the cables you need to connect your picture-taking cell phone to a computer are non-existant. They’re made, somewhere, but they’re never stocked at the store that you actually _buy_ the phone at. I was told that I need to go online to get one. What? You sell the damn phones right here in this 3,000 sq ft store, you’ve got no room for a fist-full of cables? I think I know why. They’d prefer you pay to email the pics to your self, that, and for some reason, the cable I was looking for was like $50!! Hah!? Make the cable price prohibitive to basically force people to pay extra to use their service to email any photos to yourself. Gottcha. [/QUOTE] You get them on ebay for $5. At least I always have. (My phone uses a very proprietary fitting on the phone-end of the USB cable.) For me it’s the broccoli & cheese Nancy’s quiches. And I used to be able to get these little mini-quiches that were green chili and something (I think they called them “santa fe”), (also Nancy’s) but I haven’t seen those in aaaages. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/109 "2007-03-25T00:40:04Z")
[QUOTE=Mishell] Bookcases that will match the color of my current coffee/end table set. … It’s a very dark glossy red finish, not bright red, kind of a maroony red.. [/QUOTE] How about finding a bookcase you like, sanding it, and [painting](http://www.cabots.com.au/interior/furn_inone.asp) it with a stain or varnish? ---
**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:** [March 25, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/110 "2007-03-25T17:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Fage greek yogurt. FCS, people, CARRY IT! There’s a DEMAND! Trader Joe’s carries it periodically in my area. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/111 "2007-03-25T17:57:58Z")
[http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=cell+phone+usb+cable&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=30101&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=](http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=cell+phone+usb+cable&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=30101&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=) Ebay search for cell phone usb cable – works better if you do a search for your own phone model, but you get the idea. They’re cheap on ebay and the ones I’ve gotten have always worked. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/112 "2007-03-25T23:18:02Z")
[QUOTE=ignorant, but learning] Do you know any boatsmen, or navy people. or a rigger on a construction site? There is a knot or splice they may know how to do on some good shoe laces or something like that, if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Knot called "rolling an eye, which will braid the end into the middle of a piece of rope to make a noose without knots.. probably the same knot would braid two ends into a circle-- maybe some macrame` person at a craft store can help you! Good luck! [/QUOTE] Thanks for the idea, but I already found the cord. I mentioned it on page 2 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/113 "2007-03-26T00:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=Smitty] I love sarsaparilla, but I can never find it. Maybe that’s not surprising, but it frustrates me. [/QUOTE] Well, better late than never, but how about [A.J. Stephens and Sioux City Sarsaparilla?](http://www.thesodagallery.com/soda-search.php?category=Sarsaparilla&brand=) I could’ve sworn Stewart’s also makes a sarsaparilla but I guess I was mistaken–of course, they make every OTHER weird flavor of pop in the world! Or there’s [Manhattan Special,](http://www.sodaking.com/product_info.php/products_id/618) [Hansen’s,](http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/hansens_signature/) [Columbia Soda Works,](http://www.lukecole.com/Root%20Beer/Luke's%20root%20beers%20-%20Columbia.htm) or [Kutztown](http://www.caneandreed.com/soda.htm) and if that just doesn’t do it you can [make](http://www.thegrape.net/browse.cfm/4,7653.htm) your [own,](http://www.homebrewing.org/Sarsaparilla-Soda_p_114-483.html) at home! I really do need to get a life… ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/114 "2007-03-26T00:29:21Z")
Try finding a filter for a room humidifier in a month that doesn’t start with “Novembe”. For some reason the stores stock these as seasonal items. There on the shelf for less time than Easter candy. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/115 "2007-03-26T04:52:40Z")
For the love of God we had an almost IMPOSSIBLE time trying to find an egg punch. Took us FOREVER. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/116 "2007-03-26T04:56:08Z")
an egg what?? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/117 "2007-03-26T06:38:29Z")
Egg punch. You know, 7-Up, red Kool-Aid, a packet of orange sherbet, some orange slices and maraschino cherries, and nine raw eggs. It’s kind of a Kennewick thing. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/118 "2007-03-26T11:08:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk] Egg punch. You know, 7-Up, red Kool-Aid, a packet of orange sherbet, some orange slices and maraschino cherries, and nine raw eggs. It’s kind of a Kennewick thing. [/QUOTE] If you 'd just gotten some 7-Up, red Kool-Aid, a packet of orange sherbet, some orange slices and maraschino cherries, and nine raw eggs, it probably wouldn’t have taken forever, even mixing them together yourself. All of that stuff can be easily found at any Von’s. Do you really expect many (if any) entrepreneurs to bother to create such a mixture and try to sell it at a profit? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/119 "2007-03-26T13:59:29Z")
Lebanese sweets–halva and malban, with nuts and apricot paste and strawberry jelly, in all different combinations. I’ve never managed to buy it in the United States. Even on the internet my only options are to ship it in from Lebanon, for double the cost of the actual goods. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800/120 "2007-03-26T16:55:40Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] Do you really expect many (if any) entrepreneurs to bother to create such a mixture and try to sell it at a profit? [/QUOTE] Hence the difficulty in finding it, apparently. Besides, you have to get the proportion of 7-Up just right or it ends up kinda gross. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-which-are-surprisingly-hard-to-find/394800.md?page=7)