Saturday, August 22, 2009

Humongous is the New Small

Jeff and I were at the theater today and he ordered a small soft drink. (Sigh....)

When he walked up with his "small" drink, I was shocked. I grabbed it and said, "You HAVE to photograph this!"



I asked him if he was going to drink it all even though he wanted a smaller size. He looked at me like I was telling him what to do, not asking. Okay, maybe I was passively suggesting that he didn't have to drink it all. He said next time he'll order this same size and if we are with a group of people who want soda, too, he'll order three or four empty cups. I wonder how that would go over....

He told me that when he stopped in at a coffee shop yesterday for a mocha the cashier asked what size and he said, "Small." He said the cashier asked why he would just want small when for a few cents more he could get a much larger mocha.

Just because you can get more for less, doesn't mean you should. On that note, I can't believe McDonald's is currently advertising all soft drinks for $1. In this case "more" is just more sugar, calories and chemicals that our bodies suffer from. We get NO nutrients from soda!

"Super-sizing" our portions is undoubtedly super-sizing us!

When I did a search hoping to pull up the actual dollar drink ad, I found instead a bunch of blogs of people who are really excited to be getting this good deal....

7 comments:

kitchensink said...

The drink sizes in movie theaters are over-the-top! When I last ordered a "small" at my local cinema, the cashier reminded me that the larger size was only 50 cents more plus I could get free refills. "Geez, I'd have to be wearing an adult diaper!" was my response....

Unknown said...

I had to laugh at this post (and sigh). I just moved from Europe and, to me, even a Starbucks small coffee is almost too big for me now. And, I think the guy next to me was bewildered as I put honey in my coffee to sweeten it. People are always so hesitant to believe me when I tell them honey (I use raw agave or raw honey in my coffee) tastes delicious in coffee. Why do people truly doubt things w/o trying it first? This is beyond me. I think it's more about not accepting change and being stubborn...

My Year Without said...

KitchenSink-Ha! That's great. I'll have to remember that line. I never order soda, and it's funny that when I order water no one mentions super-sizing that!

Natalie-I can relate. I get bent out of shape when I go to a coffee shop and
1. there is no "for here" ceramic coffee mug option
2. the small is huge even though I only want one shot of espresso
3. there are no natural sweeteners.

Perhaps making coffee with honey at home for friends and family is one way to get people used to the idea.

Unknown said...

Year without: Yes, I'm a brunch kind of person. By that I mean that I love making brunch for people. So, the next time I do that, I will be serving honey with the coffee. We'll see how it goes.

I bring my own mug to a coffee shop. But, in Portugal, take-away coffee is unheard of and ceramic cups are ALWAYS used. I recently dusted off my reusable mug. I think all coffee shops should serve their coffee in a mug if the patron is having their coffee there. In fact, encouraging people to stay, use the wi-fi, encourages more coffee drinking...equals more $$ for shop. Duh.

Oh, and I do try to avoid places like Starbucks b/c I'm slowly turning to a locavore lifestyle. So, I'm irked when I walk into locally-owned coffee shops and they don't serve local honey and locally made products. I mean, really, do I want a muffin from Costco? NO. Do I want my honey from a jumbo Costco bear or Price Chopper brand? NO. I want local, raw honey. Is that really too much to ask??? The local farmer's market is the next street over and someone sells local, raw honey every week. Oh, and do I want your artifically flavored coffee? NO. Thankfully, they do have a fair trade, organic regular coffee. Just wish it was locally roasted. Not roasted for the shop by some place in CA and shipped to them here in Kansas.
Sorry for the rant...

Sizzle said...

Why is everything SO BIG?! I do not understand the need for gluttony, especially around food that are so bad for you. Bottomless fries, super sized meals, huge big gulps. All that stuff makes me shudder. Ew.

My Year Without said...

Sizzle-Yes, especially the "more for less" gimmick. More what? Junk in our bodies? How is THAT a good deal?!

Natalie-Love your rant! I completely understand!

mamapasta said...

come to France... smaller drinks....And smaller people too!
( well we are getting larger this years )