# Things done to products to meet public expectations **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089 "2011-06-02T15:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/141 "2011-06-09T21:48:55Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Supermarkets here have started selling meat in oxygen impermeable [vacuum packs](http://www.preventandsave.ie/documents/Brochures/Retailer%20Brochure/Tester%20Marks%20and%20Spencers.pdf)\*- yes the meat is brown/purple, but it pinks up if you leave it in the air for 5 minutes and it tastes the same. > > \*pdf Interesting. Do they promote the sous vide method with the bags? That’s where you take vacuum packed meat and slow cook it in 135 degree water. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/142 "2011-06-09T23:31:00Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > That’s why the lawmakers demanded the sound to be added: due to smaller size of cell phones, people (esp. in crowded Japanese subways, but also elsewhere) started taking photos of girls up their skirt in a crowd or of women over the stall of the toilet and similar “fun” :mad: Cite please? If this is true, why doesn’t the video camera feature make a noise too? Trivia: the cellphone “shutter click” sound is usually not just a shutter click, but the sound of a motorized film winder also. I believe it’s often a Nikon F3 (or at least, that’s commonly used as the camera sound effect in movies, as an archetypal “real camera” sound). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/143 "2011-06-09T23:48:05Z")
The _Hyperion_ novels by Dan Simmons tell of a “farcaster” network that instantaneously translates people and things from one planet to another, regardless of distance, using singularity technology. Going through a portal, nobody feels any sensation from it at all. So the builders installed a feature that made people feel tingly when going through it so they wouldn’t be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/144 "2011-06-09T23:53:39Z")
Isn’t a whitener added to wheat flour so it looks, white? Medicine pills have all sorts of inactive stuff to bulk them up. And then of course the Golden Age of the OP was the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/145 "2011-06-10T00:22:50Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Cite please? > > If this is true, why doesn’t the video camera feature make a noise too? There have been multiple legislative acts across the world on this issue. In the US was this [one](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.414:) though it never passed to my knowledge. Is a law requiring cell phones to make click noises a perfect solution, no but it does stop some would be voyeurs and that’s enough for legislatures to consider it. Maybe people just haven’t gotten around to or thought of requiring video camera noises. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/146 "2011-06-10T00:36:23Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Now that you mention it, I remember that the movie _U571_ had a reference to powdered eggs. So apparently, the technology has been available at least since WW2. That was in _McHale’s Navy_ too. —Hey! Careful with those eggs! —Who needs careful? They’re powdered. —Well, we don’t want powder all over the deck! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/147 "2011-06-10T00:37:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Gruyere in Gruyere is a wonderful translucent gold. So is Pecorino romano in Italy. You know how they get that pretty translucent sheen? They’re totally greasy. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/148 "2011-06-10T01:21:16Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > (Bolding mine) > > That’s why the lawmakers demanded the sound to be added: due to smaller size of cell phones, people (esp. in crowded Japanese subways, but also elsewhere) started taking photos of girls up their skirt in a crowd or of women over the stall of the toilet and similar “fun” :mad: My cell phone camera doesn’t make any noise if the volume is set on silent or vibrate. It’s a Samsung, if it makes any difference. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/149 "2011-06-10T02:44:05Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > There have been multiple legislative acts across the world on this issue. > > In the US was this [one](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.414:) though it never passed to my knowledge. Oh, I don’t doubt that it’s been proposed - in fact cellphone cameras were banned outright in Saudi Arabia a few years back. I question whether those proposals have had any effect on the decision to include a sound effect in the devices. Every cellphone camera I’ve had allowed the sound to be turned off. I just confirmed that’s the case with an iphone. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/150 "2011-06-10T04:53:14Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Cite please? > > If this is true, why doesn’t the video camera feature make a noise too? [Cite for you sir.](http://articles.latimes.com/2002/dec/06/world/fg-pixphone6/2) My phone also makes a noise in video mode. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/151 "2011-06-10T07:27:24Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > If this is true, why doesn’t the video camera feature make a noise too? > > Trivia: the cellphone “shutter click” sound is usually not just a shutter click, but the sound of a motorized film winder also. I believe it’s often a Nikon F3 (or at least, that’s commonly used as the camera sound effect in movies, as an archetypal “real camera” sound). Because a lot more people\* have cell phones than video cameras or digital photos; and because cell phones are much smaller than either. - In Germany, and I think other European countries, cell phones are “given for free” when you sign a 2-year-contract with your provider. It’s the same business model as with ink cartridges for the printer: the contract for two years has a monthly basic fee plus a higher fee for each minute you use the phone, so when you add up the minimum fees without using the phone, it comes to about 240 Euros at least. Because the phone rates are so high, people are slowly starting to keep their old unlocked cell phones and buy only pay-as-use phone cards without contract, once the original two years are up. That’s also why there are shops that sell second hand handys, and unlocked ones. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/152 "2011-06-10T07:32:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Isn’t a whitener added to wheat flour so it looks, white? Does the FDA allow that? If you add anything here, under German / European laws you would have to label it. Besides, the colour of flour depends on the grade with which it was ground, and how much of the fiber was sifted out. Customers know that[type](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour#Flour_type_numbers) 1000 is darker than 450 because it has more fiber stuff. If customers wanted blazing unnatural white, the flour could be bleached with oxygen or similar, but I have not heard this. > [@](#): > > Medicine pills have all sorts of inactive stuff to bulk them up. I think that adds functionality: you can’t swallow or package 1 mg of stuff properly or easily, so it’s simpler to add 1 mg to filler to get 1 g pill. Also, in many medicines you want the active stuff to start only in the stomach or the intestine, not in the mouth (for others you want it to start immediately, or you take it anal so it only works in the lower intestine). So some pills are coated to make swallowing easier since they are smooth, some are coated or have fillers to delay digestion. Some are even named Chrono because they give off the active ingredient over 12 hours in a steady pace, not all at once when the stomach starts digesting the pill. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/153 "2011-06-10T07:45:27Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Now that you mention it, I remember that the movie _U571_ had a reference to powdered eggs. So apparently, the technology has been available at least since WW2. Of course - WWII was a big push for powdered foods (the first push in conversation of food was WWI, with dried veggies which apparently tasted terrible), in order to keep stuff longer, and to make transport easier because of reduced weight. And yes, people complained about how terrible unlike real eggs or milk this was - both in texture and taste, and in usability. In the 80s, I experienced Becel, a company that makes powdered eggs for people who want to lower their cholesterol/ protein intake, but they were mostly mixed with normal eggs (that is, a recipe calls for 5 eggs, you use 2 + powder). I also see powdered eggs and milk for hikers or people storing long-time food, and I still think the powdered milk tastes terrible, but it’s a compromise between comfort and availability. (A lot of ready-to-go coffe lattes and similar also use powdered milk, or office where fresh milk would turn sour.) ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/154 "2011-06-10T08:29:14Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Because a lot more people\* have cell phones than video cameras or digital photos; and because cell phones are much smaller than either. I meant the video camera feature on cellphones. Autolycus, thanks for the cite. What noise does your phone make when recording video? My iphone makes a ping when it starts recording, but that’s all (and it is easily muted). ---
**Author:** ![captnkurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@captnkurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captnkurt)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/155 "2011-06-10T13:02:21Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > I meant the video camera feature on cellphones. Am I missing something here? That seems completely unworkable. I get the still photo “camera noise” as a potential way to discourage certain pervy elements from snapping pics in locations they oughtn’t (dressing rooms, toilets, upskirt, etc). I’m not saying I buy the whole “so that’s why every cell camera has to make that noise now, because they made a law!” argument, as it feels very urban lengendy, but let’s grant that for now. How the heck would you use some sort of sound with a video cam to defeat this kind of nefarious activity? Have it make some sort of beep or ping or whatever when you start recording? Okay, fine. Then Skeevy McUpskirt starts recording somewhere in private, and then walks to wherever he wants to record. Surely you don’t want the camera to emit a constant “Warning! This camera is now recording!” … Warning! This camera is now recording!"… which would render unusable any footage from the 99.99% of us that don’t post material to [www.seegirlstinkle.com](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=834&q=unicorns+rainbows&gbv=2&oq=unicorns+ra&aq=0&aqi=g2g-m1&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=1543l6838l0l11l11l0l2l2l0l310l1838l0.6.2.1) (good gravy, I hope that is not a real site, but just in case, I have replaced the link with one pointing to pictures of unicorns and rainbows). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/156 "2011-06-10T14:40:57Z")
> [@captnkurt](#): > > I get the still photo “camera noise” as a potential way to discourage certain pervy elements from snapping pics in locations they oughtn’t (dressing rooms, toilets, upskirt, etc). I’m not saying I buy the whole “so that’s why every cell camera has to make that noise now, because they made a law!” argument, as it feels very urban lengendy, but let’s grant that for now. Uh, but don’t most digital cameras allow the sound to be turned off? Wouldn’t “pervs” just do that? ---
**Author:** ![captnkurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@captnkurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captnkurt)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/157 "2011-06-10T15:24:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Uh, but don’t most digital cameras allow the sound to be turned off? Wouldn’t “pervs” just do that? I would believe that to be be true. I just tested mine and there was no sound. I was just granting that premise to argue that if that were the case, I believe there’s no way you could port such a feature over to video. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/158 "2011-06-10T15:54:20Z")
> [@Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](#): > > I’ve been to Cheddar in Somerset UK and bought cheese there, it was pale yellow. > I don’t think I’ve ever seen orange cheddar cheese, or maybe I have but just assumed it’s not cheddar because it’s orange. We have Red Leicester (pron. “LESter”) which is similar to cheddar, albeit crumblier, and dyed orange. Cheddar here is pale and has been as long as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/159 "2011-06-10T16:32:27Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > We have Red Leicester (pron. OK, that’s just plain wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089/160 "2011-06-10T17:32:22Z")
How about [maraschino cherries](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraschino_cherry)? The Wiki article has their history in the US, but they can’t be a purely US thing, can they? Do you have maraschino cherries in foreign parts? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-done-to-products-to-meet-public-expectations/584089.md?page=9)