# Things there isn't really a fancy version of **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137 "2020-05-19T19:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/21 "2020-05-20T00:32:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Yeah you can get a bigger TV but what can you do to upgrade a gaming console, DVD player, phone etc? Cover it in gold and diamonds? [Yes](https://www.theinternationalman.com/luxury-smartphones.php). (Bought by the same kind of idiots who buy 6- and 7-figure wristwatches.) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/22 "2020-05-20T00:56:40Z")
Regarding the simple addition of bling: Musical instruments usually have a very strong correlation between tangible quality and price. Most accomplished professionals play pretty high-quality stuff. But some instruments (like guitars) sell in very large numbers to casual amateurs who, if they have tons of money and want to go all out, can find manufacturers who will be happy to add some ridiculously expensive, useless options. A friend of mine used to go to guitar company websites which have online tools for the customer to specify options, and see how expensive a guitar he could design by adding high-end baubles (wood that violates international laws, gold-plated pickguard, acres of mother-of-pearl, etc.) Because the results looked like a guitar a dictator would own, he gave them names like Martin Strongman, Taylor Despot, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/23 "2020-05-20T00:59:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I was going to say salt, but there are people with extra-disposable income buying expensive Pink Crystal Non-GMO Himalayan Salt. > > From an ad for one such product: > > “Himalayan salt is hand-harvested from the Khewra Salt Mine in the Himalayan Mountains of Pakistan using time-honored methods, and is unrefined, unprocessed, and does not contain any additives…Because the salt was left untouched for years under the immense pressure of the mountain ranges, Himalayan salt remains one of the purest salts available. It is nutrient dense and contains 84 natural trace elements and minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which is where it gets its range of pink color from.” > > See, it’s ultra-pure because of all those impurities! (hilariously, this product also carries a California Prop. 65 warning, apparently due to the lead content) The other hilarious thing is that you can get a big bag of the exact same stuff for pennies on the haute cuisine dollar if you go to an Indian (or Nepali, Pakistani, etc.) grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/24 "2020-05-20T01:19:14Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Adult Toys [11 of the Most Expensive Sex Toys to Ever Exist](https://www.glamour.com/gallery/11-most-expensive-sex-toys) ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/25 "2020-05-20T07:28:01Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Also cashew butter, pecan butter, almond butter, pistachio butter, sunflower seed butter, etc. Try dry-roasted macadamia nut butter, preferably with only a little salt added. A lot more expensive than peanut butter, but a lot nicer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/26 "2020-05-20T09:25:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I was going to say salt, but there are people with extra-disposable income buying expensive Pink Crystal Non-GMO Himalayan Salt. > > From an ad for one such product: > > “Himalayan salt is hand-harvested from the Khewra Salt Mine in the Himalayan Mountains of Pakistan using time-honored methods, and is unrefined, unprocessed, and does not contain any additives…Because the salt was left untouched for years under the immense pressure of the mountain ranges, Himalayan salt remains one of the purest salts available. It is nutrient dense and contains 84 natural trace elements and minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which is where it gets its range of pink color from.” > > See, it’s ultra-pure because of all those impurities! (hilariously, this product also carries a California Prop. 65 warning, apparently due to the lead content) Yeah, I once had a customer ask me if the Pink Himalayan Salt was pure salt. No, pure salt is _white_. It’s the impurities that make this stuff _pink_ Great, 84 trace elements - that’s what, 90% of the naturally occurring on Earth periodic table? Funny how they list the impurities that might have some use to you and ignore all the toxic and/or radioactive ones. Granted, the beryllium, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, mercury, polonium, radium, thorium, uranium, and plutonium are in vanishingly small amounts but I find it hilarious that people who are so concerned about “organic” produce, food purity, anti-GMO, and terrified of toxins are willingly consuming pink salt. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/27 "2020-05-20T09:39:03Z")
Spatulas! Why, I bet the most expensive spatula in [Spatula City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUDwj_mXKE) only costs a few bucks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/28 "2020-05-20T11:49:26Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Spatulas! Why, I bet the most expensive spatula in [Spatula City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUDwj_mXKE) only costs a few bucks. 🙂 You mean they don’t have titanium and platinum spatulas with gold-inlaid handles? What a useless place! :D ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/29 "2020-05-20T12:48:14Z")
McDonalds. Rich kids, poor kids. They all want to go to it. I’ve seen kids birthday parties where they rent limos to take the kids to - a McDonalds. Also kids toys in general. From Hot Wheels to Barbie to Fisher Price playsets to board games to backyard trampolines to Xbox most kids pretty much want the same stuff. This is coming from someone who does kids birthday parties. Most kids want pretty much the same stuff. Except American Girls dolls. Those are crazy expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/30 "2020-05-20T12:54:54Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > McDonalds. Five Guys, Shake Shack, In-N-Out, Smashburger, Whataburger ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/31 "2020-05-20T13:43:15Z")
Shivs. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/32 "2020-05-20T13:51:19Z")
Ketchup. There are a million varieties of fancy mustard, but not really ketchup. According to a fairly well-known Malcolm Gladwell article, it’s because the sweet, salty and acidic flavors of ordinary ketchup are already in perfect balance, crating a whole more than the sum of its parts, and can’t really be improved upon. Or something like that, don’t feel like re-reading the article but here it is: > **[The Ketchup Conundrum](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum)** > > Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/33 "2020-05-20T14:31:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ketchup. There are a million varieties of fancy mustard, but not really ketchup. According to a fairly well-known Malcolm Gladwell article, it’s because the sweet, salty and acidic flavors of ordinary ketchup are already in perfect balance, crating a whole more than the sum of its parts, and can’t really be improved upon. Or something like that, don’t feel like re-reading the article but here it is: > [The Ketchup Conundrum | The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum) I’ve been to restaurants with “fancier” ketchup and they were always objectively worse than good old Heinz. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/34 "2020-05-20T14:33:10Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Tacos There are plenty of upscale tacos out there, including [this silly $25,000 one](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/10/10/the-most-expensive-taco-in-the-world-costs-25000.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/35 "2020-05-20T14:39:32Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Spatulas! Why, I bet the most expensive spatula in [Spatula City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUDwj_mXKE) only costs a few bucks. 🙂 Spatulas may be cheap, but my private chef is not. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/36 "2020-05-20T14:41:42Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Shivs. Until Martha Stewart went to prison. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/37 "2020-05-20T14:42:13Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Electronics too. Yeah you can get a bigger TV but what can you do to upgrade a gaming console, DVD player, phone etc? Want a fancy phone? Try [these guys](http://www.goldvish.com/). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/38 "2020-05-20T14:44:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There are plenty of upscale tacos out there, [Fixed link](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/10/10/the-most-expensive-taco-in-the-world-costs-25000.html). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/39 "2020-05-20T15:30:47Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > … > I’d say electric fans. I don’t think there’s a rich people version of one. > … [There is!](https://www.dyson.com/fans-and-heaters/dyson-cool-overview.html) Though I’d argue there are 3 tiers of stuff: 1. Regular-people stuff. 2. Fancier stuff that may offer some value but also may just be nifty and/or pandering to the label-conscious - for those who have a bit more than middle-class income but would not qualify as “rich” 3. Rich people stuff Dyson fans, and Lexus cars, would fall into category 2. A 20 dollar box fan or 30 dollar oscillating fan would do the job, as would a Ford compact car. Things in the second category may offer some bells and whistles above the first but aren’t really game-changers in terms of function. Category 3, though, is for people who have either “more dollars than sense (cents)”, or have very specific performance requirements. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137/40 "2020-05-20T15:35:37Z")
As for fancy TV sets, I just checked Best Buy’s website; the biggest (98") 8K TVs were tens of thousands of dollars (I think $60,000). And at that level, you don’t just buy the TV and put it on the end table; you’re setting up a whole system, with speakers, AV receiver and so forth and probably in a room furnished as a home theater. Such things can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And no, there’s no such thing as a rich person version of an electric fan, because they don’t buy them. They use airconditioning instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-there-isnt-really-a-fancy-version-of/854137.md?page=3)