# Things in the grocery store that fascinate you for no real reason **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681 "2002-10-03T14:51:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/21 "2002-10-03T19:21:47Z")
Neck bones. Especially since [John Thorne](http://www.outlawcook.com/diary/Page9031.html) talked about cookin’ up a mess of 'em for his midnight snack. I’m thinking more like pork, though. In a saucepan with onions and sauerkraut. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/22 "2002-10-03T19:23:47Z")
Calf brains How anyone (including my dad, who loves them scrambled with his eggs) can eat them is beyond me. The damn things look just like human brains, and I’m not about to eat them lest I become a zombie. The big 10 lb tub of “chitterlings” (that’s chittlins if you grew up in the country, and pig intestines if you didn’t). I’ve never seen these things in anyone’s shopping cart, and I suspect the same tub has been sitting in the meat case since the store opened. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/23 "2002-10-03T19:26:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\* > > SNIP! > > At this time of year I also cruise the halloween candy aisle and look at all the new crap that the kids are going to eat this year. They’re usually a far cry from the molassess kisses, apples and little chocolate bars we had. \*\* Didja see the new Peeps? Cocoa bats! And they’re HUGE. I like to peruse the ethnic aisle. I love experimenting with ‘new’ foods. I try something I haven’t had before every now and then. And cheese. There are so many kinds of cheese. I tried some Limburger and almost yakked. I guess it’s an acquired taste. The sundried tomato and basil from Trader Joes was lovely, though. ON PREVIEW - My dad got me hooked on Vienna sausages as a child. They’re just tiny hotdogs. I had a can three days ago for a snack at work. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/24 "2002-10-03T19:52:01Z")
A bit different than most… I once went to a grocery store while I was tripping on acid. To this day I cannot enter the snack chip aisle without pausing in awe. ---
**Author:** ![Inaditch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@Inaditch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inaditch)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/25 "2002-10-03T19:57:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\*Chicken feet. When I was eight or so, my mom chased after me down the aisle with a chicken foot from an opened package, cackling the whole way. \*\* Ok, I have to ask. Who was holding the chicken foot, you or your mom? My guess is that you had the foot, but the image of a mom chasing her kid down the aisle while brandishing a chicken foot and cackling madly has been the highlight of my day, so far. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/26 "2002-10-03T20:00:11Z")
Clam juice. Because…what is it and how do they get it from the clams? And no, I don’t really want to know. Some things should remain a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/27 "2002-10-03T21:01:46Z")
This whole thread has me in stitches. I can imagine the ins and outs of some of these confounding products, actually. I’d imagine, for instance, that the chocolate french fries are a “cut out the middle man” treat for kids (like me 🙂 ) who like to dip their fries into their Frosty at Wendy’s. As for me, I avoid the meat department entirely (gak, dead flesh) so the aisles that alway gives me pause is the cleaning and paper supplies aisle and the “feminine products” aisle. So many products which do the exact same thing! As averse as I am to monopolies, I figure that there really only needs to be one brand of tampons, one brand of pads, one of pantiliners, one of facial tissues, one of dishwashing liquid, one of laundry detergent, one of window cleaner, one of paper towels, one of toilet paper, etc. All the rest is just pointless confusion! (Especially for my poor husband, who never buys the _right_ brand of anything without my guidance.) ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/28 "2002-10-03T21:33:23Z")
scrapple and gefilte fish ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/29 "2002-10-03T21:35:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by booklover \* > \*\*The new trend of strange-colored food (blue ketchup, etc.) is bizarre. I was mesmerized in Safeway two days ago when I saw a new product called “Funky Fries”. These are frozen French fries in two varieties: 1) dyed bright blue and 2) chocolate flavored (a brown color). Chocolate flavored French fries!!! How weird is that? \*\* I was gonna start a thread on this. In one visit to the HEB, I saw Cap’n Crunch cereal with Crayola colored “berries”. That’s just about the most peculiar product tie-in I’ve ever seen. Mmmm, this cereal tastes just like Crayons. A little later, I saw the multi-colored ketchup. The freakiest stuff was the pink or blue butter. Are our children really in such desperate need of butter in their diets that we need to induce them to eat it somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/30 "2002-10-03T21:35:48Z")
A grocery store near my house sells big white bags of GHB. It looks like sugar. Another name for this thread could be “Fraternity pledging/hazing food options” ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/31 "2002-10-03T21:35:52Z")
gefilte fish is actually quite nice with pink horseradish on it ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/32 "2002-10-03T22:08:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Debaser \* > **A grocery store near my house sells big white bags of GHB. It looks like sugar.** Did I miss something somewhere, or, what’s **GHB**? Thanks for the tips on salt pork folks…I still can’t see myself actually purchasing it, but maybe one of these days I will. That is, when I decide to make a good bean soup or somthing. ---
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/33 "2002-10-03T22:19:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston Smith \* > \*\*Goat Heads around Easter time. Yes, you read that correctly - Goat Heads. Unfortunately, all the hair and skin has been stripped off, but they still look really cool/nasty, and I’ve always thought it would be fun to buy a couple of 'em, and put them on sticks in the front yard. \*\* Those are actually really good either rubbed with garlic, rosemary and oil then grilled, or braised and used for taco meat. If you’re into that sort of thing, you can pop out the eyes and eat 'em like olives. Make sure you split the skulls to get at the brains. Oh, and **Uke** , pork neck bones cook up a turn with sauerkraut in a slow cooker. Just the thing for chillky October nights, although there’s some picking involved to get the meat off. Drop me a line if you want my recipe. ---
**Author:** ![mudcrutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@mudcrutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudcrutch)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/34 "2002-10-03T22:27:52Z")
[Bimbo bread](http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com/). At our local Sack ‘n’ Save there is a whole shelf of of this stuff. It looks like regular bread and tastes the same, except that it carries the name “Bimbo”. I’m not sure if it is very common outside of Mexico or the southwest USA. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/35 "2002-10-03T23:10:05Z")
Phoenix is full of Bimbo billboards in spanish. The bear character is a none too subtle ripoff of Poppin Fresh, the Pillsbury doughboy. ---
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/36 "2002-10-03T23:41:12Z")
I’m not fascinated by the products, so much as other stuff. I love to watch the sprinklers turn on to water the fruits and vegetables. Usually, sound effects will play, like the sound of thunder. When I’m old and decrepit, I will have my great-grandkids drive me out to the grocery store so I can sit in my rocker and wait for the sprinkler to come on…all for the thrill of seeing which sound effect will play. But I was both fascinated and sickened by a bag of crawdad-flavored potato chips the other day. At least, I think they were crawdad-flavored. Something about “New Orleans”, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/37 "2002-10-04T01:48:14Z")
neck Bones! Now i have to go buy some they are so good all boiled up with cabbage 😃 But you can keep the chitlins, small like crap cooking ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/38 "2002-10-04T01:54:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by False\_God \* > \*\*pork neck bones cook up a turn with sauerkraut in a slow cooker. Just the thing for chillky October nights, although there’s some picking involved to get the meat off. Drop me a line if you want my recipe. \*\* Mmmmmmm…sounds great, if we ever GET a chilly October night. 72 degress here in NYC at 9:45. Picking don’t bother me. If Thorne can eat HIS neck bones with his fingers, I’m right there with him. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/39 "2002-10-04T02:17:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Inaditch \* > \*\* > > Ok, I have to ask. Who was holding the chicken foot, you or your mom? My guess is that you had the foot, but the image of a mom chasing her kid down the aisle while brandishing a chicken foot and cackling madly has been the highlight of my day, so far. \*\* It all works out then. It was my mom holding the chicken foot, chasing me. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681/40 "2002-10-04T02:54:50Z")
The Shaws in my town sells lumps of peat from Ireland, for your fireplace. I love the smell of burning peat, but 6 bucks for a block of turf seems extreme. Buffalo and ostrich are actually pretty tasty beef alternatives, but tripe looks like an air filter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-grocery-store-that-fascinate-you-for-no-real-reason/130681.md?page=3)