# Things the pandemic might destroy forever **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237 "2020-10-29T19:42:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/21 "2020-10-31T13:51:21Z")
Salad bars were ahead of the curve with their sneeze guards… That was a big perk of the college I taught at. Huge diverse salad bar. Three bucks for a large bowl. I doubt it’ll be back… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/22 "2020-10-31T13:54:49Z")
I don’t think I’ll ever want a slice of birthday cake after the celebrant blew out the candles. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/23 "2020-10-31T14:57:03Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ll miss salad bars if they don’t survive. I’ll probably avoid all-you-can-eat buffets even if they return with super-sneeze guards and UV sterilization. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/24 "2020-10-31T18:16:46Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > The color matching in this case isn’t with existing things in the house but between individual rolls of wallpaper. While they should have a lot number, there’s no guaranteeing that an online order is going to match them, or notice if two rolls in the same lot don’t actually have the exact same color shades. Whenever I’ve ordered this type of item online, they’re very clear that the dye lots will match. It’s pretty standard. Not only will most places send a sample out, it’s also very common to go choose what you like in person at a local store, then order it online someplace cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/25 "2020-10-31T18:32:51Z")
I guess joints won’t be passed around anymore. Each will roll his or her own and smoke it all alone. One additional reason not to share needles, I guess. [Shisha bars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah_lounge) (or hookah lounges, if you prefer) should go down the drain too. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/26 "2020-11-01T01:37:03Z")
While I can’t point out any specifics that I expect to vanish for good, I’ll bet that some of the different varieties of some products are gone for good. Where there used to be a dozen or so flavors of Lays chips on the shelves there are now three or four. Lunch meats are back to the basics. Pimento stuffed olives are the only option and there’s not even a shelf label for garlic or blue cheese stuffed, but I think those will be back. I hope anyways. I haven’t ventured down the cereal aisle in a while, but looking from the end the lack of box color variety is obvious. [Coke has already announced the demise of 200 brands.](https://www.fastcompany.com/90567765/coke-is-killing-200-brands-heres-the-list-of-canceled-products-announced-so-far) Hope you weren’t a fan of Tab. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/27 "2020-11-01T03:08:55Z")
Friendships! ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/28 "2020-11-01T09:34:43Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > I also wonder about a very specific sub-group of an industry: liveaboard dive boats in California. Between the fire that killed all the passengers on the Conception last year and now this, those crowded bunkrooms that make the business model economically feasible here aren’t looking so good. Interesting you should mention this. My youngest is on a dive-boat as we speak, and reports they’re running at less than half capacity. With plenty of space and ventilation, she says there’s little worry. But their schedule is: Board-\>cruise all night to reef-\>dive all day-\>cruise all night home-\>Disembark. There was almost no below-decks time when the boat was at rest. Lower capacities and constant ventilation could work as a business model, but I don’t know anything about the profit/loss issues for owners. Hopefully they can survive in some form. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/29 "2020-11-01T11:08:54Z")
Cruises, not the day type but longer ones, surely can’t survive this. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/30 "2020-11-01T15:31:24Z")
I like pizza buffets so I hope they come back. BTW they just allowed US based cruise ships to sail but with no passengers as a sort of beta test. If it goes well passengers will be allowed. I agree that since a lot of their customers are older they may not ever get back to what they were. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/31 "2020-11-01T17:22:54Z")
I was leery of cruise ships before the present pandemic. There’s no petri dish quite like several hundred over-drinking, overeating, over-friendly people stuffed into a floating hotel. Several mini-epidemics of flu, legionnaire’s and such have happened over the years. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/32 "2020-11-01T18:42:49Z")
They’ll come back. People have short memories and there is a segment of people that love these large floating buffets. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/33 "2020-11-02T09:32:17Z")
I’m beginning to wonder about hair salons. My wife bought a few stylist’s tools and has been cutting my hair since the pandemic began. I see no difference in the look or results. With zero training, she’s doing exactly as well as the $35 stylist I used to patronize. With a little practice and help from me, she’s cutting her own hair as well (it’s longer and she can see most of what she’s trimming). We see no need to ever return to a salon at this point and I doubt if we will. I wonder how many other families are discovering this? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/34 "2020-11-02T10:13:41Z")
If you don’t live alone, you have full manual dexterity, and/or _all_ you want is a haircut, I suppose. But I don’t think that’s common enough to kill them permanently. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/35 "2020-11-02T11:02:24Z")
I’ll never pay someone else to cut my hair. I’ve always been a little creeped out having a stranger touching me like that. Same reason I’d never have a massage by a stranger. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/36 "2020-11-02T11:58:41Z")
I’m the same Kayaker. I hate getting haircuts. I’ve had a massage exactly once. That was a ‘gift’ (shudder) I used to have a friend that cut my hair, relax, have a beer. Her business was in her home. That was OK, but she moved. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/37 "2020-11-02T13:30:30Z")
I don’t think so, it seems to be one of the relatively few sports/pastimes for which social distancing is easily accomplished and equipment can easily be sanitised between uses. We have played several rounds at various places over the past few months (UK-based). ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/38 "2020-11-02T17:34:05Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > We’re in the planning and negotiation stage of a bathroom redo. It has expanded to replacing the old wallpaper in our master bedroom. My wife asked me about color preference for the paper, but there’s a snag. The only place left in this town to buy wallpaper has put all its sample books on quarantine “Because COVID-19.” > > Wallpaper has been slowly dying out in recent years, but this might be the final dagger to the heart. You can’t buy wallpaper over the internet, she says, because dye lots change, and you have to actually lay eyes on the product to know what colors you’re getting. > > Handshakes are probably gone forever, and I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to greeting people outside the immediate family with hugs. > > I coined a new substitute for the hug. [Urban Dictionary: Cabbage Patch hug](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cabbage%20Patch%20hug) The few times I’ve ordered wallpaper has been through the paint store. I’ve never been able to see the rolls beforehand. As long as they are the same lot number the colors will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/39 "2020-11-02T18:16:20Z")
A lot of these answers seem to be assuming that covid will be with us forever. (thus causing the permanent end of handshaking, blowing out candles on birthday cake, etc. ) But I think that once a vaccine is easily available, covid will become a minor issue, like the regular flu that we all live with. And if so, then a lot of today’s changes will fade way, and change back to the routine we all knew in the “good ol’ days” (i.e. February). A lot of small businesses will die (i.e. non-chain restaurants) but new ones will open in the exact same locations. And working from home may fade away, too. Right now, working from home seems great. But I wonder if in the long run, it will not be sustainable. Right now, everybody who is working from home is basically just continuing with their familiar routine which they were used to doing in the office. So you can continue doing it at home,because you already know what you are doing, you know where you stand within the organization of your company, you know who your boss is, and which of your co-workers can help you when you need them, you know what your salary is , etc. But for a newly hired person, who has zero experience, it’s going to much more difficult to fit in, to learn the job, and to produce good work. And when the company itself makes major changes, it will also be very difficult. Say, starting a new department, or a new kind of major project which will force the employees to change all their usual style of work. Companies may find that they lose money by having everybody at home, and out of touch with new developments. I wonder if this whole wonderful new idea of working exclusively from home using Zoom will turn out to be a passing fad . Just like 20 years ago: the wonderful new idea of outsourcing. Having people work from home in India seemed like a good idea, but didn’t work out as well as expected. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237/40 "2020-11-02T18:38:53Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ll miss salad bars if they don’t survive. Salsa bars at the taqueria may never return, at least the self-serve variety. I think now they are packaging the fresh salsa and sides in little containers. Self-serve, all you can drink soda machines at restaurants and convenience stores may not return. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-the-pandemic-might-destroy-forever/924237.md?page=3)