What's up with the freakishly long iceburg lettuce stems lately?

Until this summer every iceburg lettuce I’ve ever seen had a little cone-shaped nubby stem that stuck maybe 2" into the head. But lately, and all of a sudden, the lettuce I’ve been getting (same store and brand as before) has stems that snake inside the heads for 4 to 6"!!! WTF?

Has anyone else noticed this? Where did this new (???) variety of lettuce come from? And why did growers make the switch.

What, not one reply? Time for one Monday morning bump.

Never mind the stems, what’s with the PRICE? Yesterday, I looked at, and refused to buy iceberg at $2.49 per head.