Slashdot Mirror
The Golden Age of Cup Manufacturing
jonerik writes "The Washington Post has this article today on the disappearance of traditional 'small' (8 oz.) cups of coffee in favor of a larger concept of 'small' (12 oz.). In the case of Starbucks, for example, a truly small 8 oz. cup of coffee is still available, but it's called a 'short' and isn't listed on the menu. Why not? 'We still have it,' says Starbucks spokeswoman Lara Wyss, 'but we don't advertise it because of the size of the menu board, the physical constraints.' Yeah, sure. Disposable cup manufacturers have taken notice of the popularity/compulsory nature of larger cup sizes. The Sweetheart Cup Co. started manufacturing a successful 24-ounce hot-beverage cup about two years ago, and Kathy Deignan, the company's national vice president of marketing and account sales says 'The eight- and 10-ounce cups are pretty much gone.' Sweetheart also manufactures 7-Eleven's 44-ounce Super Big Gulp cups, and Deignan says the company is considering producing an 80-ounce cold drink cup - that's 5 pints, folks. Christ, how much do these companies think people need to drink, anyway?"
I was going to reply, but I have to piss...BRB.
Every fast food restaurant from Wendy's to McDonalds has been increasing the size of there portions based on demand. Fatty and sugary foods taste better so we are ticked into wanting more to eat. The same thing goes for soft drinks, drink an 80 oz coke everyday and see how long it takes before you are shooting up insulin twice a day.
....Guy took a job at a simple little manufacturing company, hoping for a stress free position, and then out of nowhere... his web servers get slashdotted....
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
Meanwhile, the 8 ounce asscheek has been upgraded to the 24 ounce asscheek.
There will be trickle down from larger pants to larger chairs to larger coffins.
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem
I'm in favor of the steady increase in cup sizes. I suppose this trend can benefit the ladies, too, since guys also wear cups.
Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.
5 pints is a lot less blood that I have in my body. you might want to see what other people can accomplish with a few simple search engine queries.
hint: the human body has about 6 quarts of blood.
for a quick refresh on pints and quarts hit that link.
hint: there are 2 pints in a quart.
so 5 pints is 2.5 quarts, which is less than half of the amount of blood in the human body.
MORTAR COMBAT!
In Japan, at least, the largest drink size you can get at a fast food restraunt like McDonalds is smaller than the "courtesy cup" that they give people who order water in America. Several of my friends and myself got strange looks and comments from host families when buying 1 liter drink bottles for ourselves. I remember one guy was asked by his host family if he had a party of something when he threw away the empty bottle at home. In talking with a few of my foreign friends after I returned, I've been led to believe that America is the "Land of the Super-Sized Drinks."
Can anyone from another country or who's traveled abroad comment on this trend? Is oversized drinks just an American thing?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
the famous paper cups in the dispenser that save dishes from piling up in the sink.
Funny, I just re-use dishes to keep the sink from over-flowing.
Get your Unix fortune now!
Useless facts about the human body
some juicy bits:
The average Human bladder can hold 13 ounces of liquid
You loose enough dead skin cells in your lifetime to fill eight five pound flour bags
your skin weighs twice as much as your brain
When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop--even you heart!
have fun. remember kids, use knowledge responsibly.
MORTAR COMBAT!
I feel that the massive cups are linked to another phenomenon that I have noticed. That is, the new need for people to always have a drink in hand.
Up until recently, when people got thirsty, they went to the kitchen and got a drink. They finished their drink in the kitchen and went about their business. People also drank at the table while eating. But now, people seem to be incapable of going ANYWHERE without a drink constantly in hand.
It doesn't seem to matter what the drink is or if they are even thirsty, just so long as they always have a drink. Regardless of whether it is a ridiculous 44oz Big Gulp or a 12oz bottle of water, they must have a drink in hand.
It appears to me that people have developed some form of security blanket complex where they are out of sorts unless they have a drink in their hand. You notice this with the constant sipping. They are obviously not thirsty but every couple of minutes they are compelled to sip a half ounce or so. They seem addicted to the act of drinking, rather like smokers are to the act of smoking.
What's up with that?
MORTAR COMBAT!
Be assured it's just as silly here. I can't comment about Pizza Hut, but I know darn well that several fast food outlet pre-programmed droids get mighty confused when you ask for a small size of anything. "We have medium, large, extra large, and colossal -- what size would you like?"
To which I reply, "I'd like small, but you're not going to play along, are you?".
Blank stare, followed by "Medium, then, sir?"
"If that's the smallest you have, then yes."
Honestly, how stupid do you have to be to then ask me if I'd like to supersize that? Apparently, approximately as stupid as a significant proportion of American high-schoolers, who really make me want to say, "see, now, that's why you're wearing that silly hat".
Anyway, I digress. And, apart from that, I'm getting off the subject.
It's marketing, I'm sure, pure and simple. And the most depressing thing is it evidently works. Well it must, or they wouldn't keep doing it, now, would they? Yes, we really are stupid enough that we accept them calling the smallest size on the menu "medium", in blatant contradiction of all that is sensible and logical in the world, and buy drink sizes that ought to have a health warning from the surgeon general about over working your bladder and other sundry bits of internal plumbing.
I noticed this in early 90's when I went to college. No delivery where I grew up, so the only time you saw a pizza was at Pizza Hut. And a large was ginormous. 16".
So I go away to school. They have delivery, I have no car (stupid rule if ever there was one. Talk about encouraging alcoholism) so order a pizza. Well, dumb me knows that a large is too much, so order a medium. And what arrives, but a small.
Now Pizza Hut advertises "The Big New Yorker". A full 16" pizza.
Yeah. Like the ones you used to sell, before decided that a 14" pizza was a large. BTW, thank you ever so much for not dropping the price when you dropped the sizes.
No, you sir (madam, celestial body, whatever) are not alone in your observation. As a matter of fact, my parents have an official Pizza Hut large pizza pan from the early-mid 80's. One of my father's patients has a couple dozen. For whatever reason, he gave my father a pizza pan. Guess what? It was an old large. The new large pizzas don't fill the pan.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Never introduce abstract concepts to someone who needs pictures drawn on the register buttons.
"Ask me about Loom"
Every fast food restaurant from Wendy's to McDonalds has been increasing the size of there portions based on demand.
Working for a major pop company, I can tell you right now that premix pop is downright cheap (premix is the syrup that's mixed with water and CO2 to get the pop that comes from the fountain). Since the pop companies don't have to worry about mixing it, packaging it, and labeling it in the bottling plant, they don't have to charge much for it.
Believe it or not, advertisements for "80oz. Fountain Drinks for $.99!!!" actually lure customers there. And they can do it because they don't lose money. So, when the fast food / convenience stores get cheap pop, they get more customers, they don't lose money, and the customer walks away happy.
The stores don't care about sugar levels or diabetes, and most customers don't understand that what they think is a "great deal" isn't doing much good for them, while it works great for the company.
You turn and say "Bitch, hold this" like any normal person. Sheesh.
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
Frighteningly apropos: "...These go to eleven."
And I think Pizza Hut should change their sizes to large, extra-large, and GALACTUS, DEVOURER OF WORLDS.
I hope they never do make that 80-oz cup. If I put one of those in my cup holder, the whole damn computer would tip over.
What I think is ridiculous is the fact that on the under the sizes listed at Starbucks, "large" is displayed as "Venti (TM)." Now, "venti" is the Italian word for the number 20, and that particular size happens to be 20 ounces. I don't understand how they be allowed to hold a trademark on a number like that.
The future isn't what it used to be.
This is a subject that is pretty interresting to me since I started racing triathlons, I never really thought that things like Gatorade made sense until some people corrected me on this.
:
a tremia.htmle mia.html#Paul
The following is a first hand account of someone who experienced hyponatremia, pretty scary.
----------------
Hi everyone,
I'm writing this to "the big list", the PA Buzzards, Virginia Happy Trails
Running Club, the Montgomery County Road Running Club (in Maryland) and a
few others to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for the Get Well Wishes, Cards,
Flowers, and overall concern and support. Wow! I have a lot of wonderful
friends!
I am writing to so many people for a few reasons - first, I have received
many inquires about how I am doing after the Vermont 100 miler. Also, many
people heard about what happened (which I'll explain below) but only got
parts of the story. So you'll get the story here - as best I know it, from
me, Michele Burr - the person who got a severe case of hyponatremia at
VT100. The people who do know about my getting hyponatremia have urged me
to post something so that people are aware of this very serious problem.
I must admit, I don't remember much because I had a seizure and went into a
coma but I have pieced together many things from people who saw me at the
end of the race and from talking with my husband, who thank God, was there
at the finish line and with me during my 5 day stay at two hospitals in
Vermont and then New Hampshire.
WHAT IS HYPONATREMIA? This is a condition in which there is a very low
concentration of sodium in your blood. It is also seen in conjunction with
WEIGHT GAIN (not weight loss) and most often occurs during endurance
exercise lasting more than 5 to 7 hours. (From:
http://www.halcyon.com/gasman/water.htm) More specifically, hyponatremia
develops as sodium and free water are lost and replaced by fluids, such as
plain tap water, half-normal saline, or dextrose in water. Basically, this
condition occurs when a person takes in too much water and not enough salt.
So you are probably wondering...was I taking Suceed! caps? Was I drinking
electrolyte fluids? Yes to both of these questions but obviously I was not
taking enough of either one of these things and yes, I was also eating
potato chips, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fig newtons, and potatoes
-but again, it wasn't enough salt and I was taking in too much water. My
weight was up 5 pounds at the last weigh-in. To give you an understanding of
where my sodium level was compared to a normal person....most people have
about 140-145 mEq/L - this is some sort of measure of the amount of salt in
your blood. I had 113 mEq/L. This is extremely low. So, why is this a
problem? Because you need sodium in your blood for your brain to function.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? The answer to this question is the scary part and why
this is such a medical emergency when it occurs.
****Many of the symptoms are NEUROLOGICAL in origin.**** Level of alertness
can range from agitation to a coma state. Variable degrees of cognitive
impairment (eg, difficulty with short-term recall; loss of orientation to
person, place, or time; frank confusion or depression). Other symptoms
include seizure activity and irrational behavior. In patients with acute
severe hyponatremia, signs of brainstem herniation, including coma; fixed,
unilateral, dilated pupil; decorticate or decerebrate posturing; and
respiratory arrest. Coma and seizures usually occur only with acute
reduction of the serum sodium concentration to less than 120 mEq/L.
(Remember my sodium level was at 113 mEq/L.)
I didn't recognize where I was or who my friends were or who my husband was
at the end of the race. I walked the last 5 to 10 miles which is very
unusual for me and people said I didn't know who they were and it appeared
as though I didn't even know I was in a race. Shortly after I crossed the
finish line on Saturday night I started to vomit uncontrollably then I had a
seizure then I went into a coma. I remained in a coma for 3 days. At some
point before I woke up out of the coma I began the "irrational behavior"
mentioned above. I pulled out all my IVs and ripped off my EKG patches and
tried to kick and hit the nursing and neurosurgeon staff. I was very
combative whenever someone tried to touch me and was eventually given
antipsychotic medication.
When I woke up I didn't know where I was, what
had happened, what month, or year it was. Upon being forced to give a guess
for the month I told the neurosurgeons, "I think it's Vermont" for the
month. I couldn't read and I couldn't add numbers. On Tuesday after the
race I started to feel much, much, better. I could read again and I had
watched a car commercial to figure out what year it was. I also got a lot
of the story about what happened from my husband. It was on this day (or
maybe Monday?) I learned I had been in another hospital earlier. Why was I
first in a small local hospital (Ascutney in Windsor, VT) and then
transferred by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock? That has to do with the
scariness about how to treat this medical emergency. It you don't do it
right, it will lead to further and permanent brain damage.
HOW IS HYPONATREMIA TREATED? From http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/heat.html: It
says that the condition is frequently mis-diagnosed as dehydration and that
the consumption of water makes matters worse because it dilutes the blood
sodium concentration even further than it already is.
From http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic275.htm
"The principal causes of morbidity and death are when chronic hyponatremia
reaches levels of 110 mEq/L or less and cerebral pontine myelinolysis (an
unusual demyelination syndrome that occurs when HYPONATREMIA IS CORRECTED
TOO QUICKLY).
Much has been written about treatment of hyponatremia and the potential
adverse outcome of central pontine myelinolysis. This condition is
demyelination of the pons, which can lead to mutism, dysphasia, spastic
quadriparesis, pseudobulbar palsy, delirium, coma, and even death.
Raising the serum sodium concentration more than 25 mEq/L or to a normal or
above-normal level in the first 48 hours increases the likelihood of central
pontine myelinolysis.
The main controversy in the literature surrounds treatment of chronic
symptomatic hyponatremia because, as mentioned, central pontine myelinolysis
may result if the condition is corrected too rapidly. Therefore, although
treatment in these patients is similar to that just described, the rate of
correction should be slower (0.5 to 1 mEq/L per hour). Aggressive therapy
should be discontinued when the serum sodium concentration is raised 10% or
symptoms abate."
Upon being admitted at the first hospital in Vermont my soium level was 113
mEq/L but then quickly went to 116 and the next reading was at 126. The
hospital felt uncomfortable and kept telling my husband it was possible I'd
get "PONDS" - which is central pontine myelinolysis (permanent brain
damage). They also told him to think about long term care for me and that
"things could turn out a number of ways". They also asked him if I remained
in a vegetative state, would I want my organs donated and did I have a
living will prepared. At this point, an ambulance took me to New Hampshire
to Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Needless to say, I think I aged my husband about 10
years during these 5 days.
WHAT ARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS? Well, so far I feel I am about 95% back to
where I was neurologically before the race. (Physically, I lost 10 pounds.)
I couldn't remember my password when I got to my office so I couldn't log
into my computer and I forgot a combination lock number I often used. I
also forgot a few people's names. I had a little bit of trouble typing and
signing my name but that seems to be gone now. The last clear things I
remember from the race are at the mile 18 aid station. I am also a bit
spacey (it's a bit difficult for me to concentrate) but I can drive. I am a
research scientist so it's important that I be able to generate and
interpret statistics. I haven't tried that yet but I'm optimistic. Here are
a few more links (in case you just can't get enough about hyponatremia):
http://www.spinalhealth.net/hypon
http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/hyponatr
Finally, the way to avoid this in the future (for me) is to drink less water
and eat more salt. I will also push for a blood test from my doctor before
I run another 100 (this was my 5th one) to make sure I am not starting out
at a deficit - which is what the doctors were suggesting at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital. They said that my low sodium diet, combined
with a high volume of running (sometimes as much as 100 miles/week) and
sweating in the heat and humidity here in the Washington DC area were the
problem combined with the low volume of electrolyte fluids (relative to the
amount of water I was taking in).
This was scary. I hope some people will be educated by reading this and for
the many people who emailed and asked me what happened, I hope this answered
their questions.
Thank you so very much again everyone for your concern. My friends,
co-workers, relatives, and the ultrarunning community have been great!
Michele Burr
If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.