Very interesting replies! I thought food coloring would play a part, but I had no idea how much. Come to think of it:
-eggs are expected to be brown/white in different countries, but not sure what they do to make the eggs change color
-same for egg yolk, a darker yolk is preferred
-salmon is fed food to change its meat color: “Farm-raised salmon are fed the carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin to match their flesh color to wild salmon.”
Speaking of weights added to telephone handsets, I found out one of my computer mice had a weight too (it was a cheap mouse, not one with customizable weight). I wonder what metal they use, it’s yellowish and shiny, instead of grey like normal steel?
They have different breeds of chicken that lay white and brown eggs. The Master speaks =) I have some arucanas that lay blue and green eggs.
Also, some breeds of chickens lay tiny eggs, I used to have some bantams that laid what would be sold as ‘small’ and I had a couple ladies that regularly laid extra large eggs, they were Rhode Island Reds. More than once I would get immense goose egg sized double youlked eggs from them.
Even worse, several states, probably in the pocket of butter producers, enacted laws requiring margarine manufacturers to dye their product pink to make it look unpalatable.
When I was a kid, Irish-made cheddar was bright orange. Today, it is unusual to see orange cheddar, and most of the Irish brands are pale yellow.
We have two brands of cheddar in the house now. One is pale yellow. The other is an orange colour, but it is branded “red cheddar”. It implies that Irish people now expect the standard cheddar to be pale yellow.
Similarly, Atari’s 8-bit computers from 1979-1992 output clicking noises through the TV speaker when typing on the keyboard. It was particularly necessary on the Atari 400, which had a membrane keyboard, but it persisted through the XL and XE series, which had full-stroke keyboards. (IME the keyboards were mushy, and the clicking noise was helpful.)
The 's on the end of the name “Friendly’s”. It used to be “Friendly” but everyone called it “Friendly’s” and they finally gave in and changed the name.
I bought a cheap pair of bookshelf speakers in the 80’s that were quite heavy.
It was common for high powered speakers to be heavy in those days as heavier, larger magnets were needed to work with the extra power fed into the speaker.
These speakers though had a low power rating. I wasn’t too concerned as the speakers were priced on sale at a price that pretty much matched the power rating and they sounded good at low levels which is how I planned to use them.
Years later after I got all the use out of them that I could I opened the cabinets to discover that each speaker had a brick glued to the inside bottom of the cabinet.
That’s a completely separate issue to the one I was raising.
But yes, you’re right that there is some public expectation that cars won’t be truly silent. So maybe eventually hybrids & electrics will emit some fake noise to meet those expectations.
Even if that comes to pass, it won’t really be an example of what the OP is about, which is truly useless features to meet baseless but nonetheless real consumer expectations. Having a vehicle make some noise isn’t useless; it serves the purpose of a minor warning which experience has proven is useful in parking lots for both sighted & blind people.
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.
I’ve seen plastic beer bottles. I think its kind of stupid they’re not more widespread- plastic bottles are lighter, dont shatter, and can be brought into places that dont allow glass bottles (like beaches). Glass bottles mean heavy cases of beer, loudly clanking against each other, and shattered remnants (says the guy who accidentally dropped an [open!] case of beer down a flight of concrete steps outside his apartment :smack:
As a bus driver, our company was given new Hybrid buses. Like the prius, these new ones are VERY quiet. I like it because the older ones had a lot of noise and vibration, and hearing it for 8-10 hours straight really wears on you. Its too bad they’ll probably have to add some noise.
I am in favor of electric/hybrid vehicles making a Jetsons-esque noise sorta like MEEEEEEEEMEMEMEMEMEMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
The same amount of noise is produced by the engine, regardless of what exhaust system is on. The exhaust system dampens the noise through baffles and other design features. These features restrict the flow of air, and make it more difficult for the engine to exhaust. This does result in less power, and installing a louder, i.e. less restrictive, exhaust will increase power significantly on most cars.
The thing everyone seems to be missing with the beer bottles is that beer tastes better in glass. I can’t stand the taste of beer in cans and plastic is just as bad. Maybe it’s some inane perception thing, but darnit if it isn’t real enough for me. I only drink beer out of glasses or bottles unless there is no other choice (public events). Coke tastes better in glass bottles too, but it’s very hard to find them in the US anymore.
sorta like MEEEEEEEEMEMEMEMEMEMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee