The Shrinking of, Well, Everything

I’ve noticed something curious over the past few years. Have you? Products in stores (particularly grocery stores) are getting smaller.  Two years ago I started this post after noticing the change in size for my favorite dish washing liquid:

Left: 9 oz. Right: 10.3 oz.

Since then I’ve noticed more and more items throughout the store are shrinking:

• Cereal: There is less in the boxes; and the boxes are becoming so thin that they tip over. (<– First-World problem, but still…)
• Orange juice:  Remember when a half-gallon of OJ was a half-gallon?  It’s now 59 fl. oz.
• Cake mixes: They say they’ve reformulated the mix to ensure normal yields, but what happens to recipes that call for a “box” of cake mix? (Wegman’s has addressed this.)

The list goes on; and frankly, there are so many examples now that I’ve lost track. Can’t supply pictures, can’t offer proof.

I was moved to finally finish this post when I replenished my “lemon juice” this shopping trip. I buy those yellow plastic “lemons” when I need a quick shot of lemon juice in a recipe.  Well this time I noticed that the size offered by my grocer has been reduced by nearly half!  Same brand. Now in a smaller size.

Left: 4 1/2 oz. Right: 8 oz.

I don’t have the register tape for my 8 oz. purchase, so I don’t know if I paid a fair amount for almost half the product this time.  I don’t know if this manufacturer still offers the 8 oz. size.  All I know is that the smaller size is now the only size offered by my grocery store chain.

I believe food manufacturers are trying to shield consumers from the true cost of the food we eat.  Production costs are rising; so, in order to keep their product prices more or less steady, they shrink the size.  What? Do they think we won’t notice?

Now, about those cake mixes…  A chocolate cookie favorite that we bake at Christmastime calls for a box of Devils Food cake mix.  Another ingredient is a block of cream cheese.  The cream cheese hasn’t (yet) experienced a size reduction, but the cake mix has.  The cookies now have a distinct taste of cream cheese which was absent prior to the cake-mix size reduction.  We may have to tweak the recipe to get it back to what it was like “before.”

How many other adjustments will be necessary in some favorite recipes.

And a least a gallon of milk is still a gallon.

Have you noticed any size reductions?  Please add them to the comments.

Pinworthy Stuff I Pinned

And now, for the latest update of Pinworthy Stuff I Pinned.

The new ones are at the top.  Enjoy!

Want to know why I’m doing this? Click this link.

The Ninth Installment: Best. Song. Lyrics. EVAH.

It’s time for The Ninth Installment of my Favorite. Song. Lyrics. EVER.

See installments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the second #5, 6, and 7.

As always, enjoy!  (And read to the end for some extra-special sciryl* fun.  (*That “lyrics” backwards…..)

• “It’s four o’clock in the morning / Damn it listen to me good / I’m sleeping with myself tonight /Saved in time, thank God my music’s still alive.” — Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John. (Video and lyrics.)
• “I’m learning to live without you now / But I miss you sometimes / The more I know, the less I understand All the things I thought I knew, I’m learning again.” — The Heart of the Matter by Don Henly. (Video and lyrics.)
• “I said God he stole the handle and the train won’t stop going —
  no way to slow down.”  Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull. (Live video and lyrics.)
• Annnnddddd….. Since this is Installment No. 9 (No. 9, No. 9, No. 9…..) I thought I’d add some of the lyrics from the Beatles that kinda, sorta, almost hinted that Paul was dead .  But have a look at this site.

From Revolution No. 9: The repeated phrase “Number nine,” when played backwards, becomes “turn me on, dead man.” There’s also a lot of recorded conversation in this music-free track, much of which has been taken by listeners as clues to Paul’s crash and death: “his voice was low and his eyes were high and his eyes were closed” and “his legs were drawn, his hands were tied, his feet were bent and his head was on fire and his glasses were insane. This was the end of his audience,” and “My wings are broken and so is my hair. I’m not in the mood for wearing clothing.” You can also hear the crash, a fire, sirens, and Paul screaming “Get me out.” (Source: from.)

And, for those who are interested, here’s Revolution #9 backwards so that you can hear it. (It’s a bit unnerving; but well, that’s what we were hearing when the Paul-is-dead furor hit the airwaves. Go figure.)

Enjoy listening!  And come back for my next installment.

The Eighth Installment: Best. Song. Lyrics. EVAH.

It’s time for The Eighth Installment of my Favorite. Song. Lyrics. EVER.

See installments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the second #5, 6, and 7.

As always, enjoy!

• “Lookin’ down the barrel of a hot metal forty five / just another way to survive.”  — Dani California by The Red Hot Chili Peppers.  (Video and lyrics.)
• “Now today is tomorrow / And tomorrow today / And yesterday is weaving in and out” — Comfort Eagle by Cake.  (Video and lyrics.)
• “The jig is up the news is out  / they’ve finally found me.” — Renegade by Styx. (Video and Lyrics.)
•  “Down and Out / It can’t be helped but there’s a lot of it about / With, without / And who’ll deny that’s what the fighting’s all about.” — Us and Them by Pink Floyd.  (Video and lyrics.)  Nope; there’s no video. Unless you want to stare at the cover of Dark Side of the Moon, that is.  You do? Well, then.  Go here.

Enjoy listening!