An unusual supermarket has appeared in Brussels recently. It is a cooperative shop whose members are neighbors living in the same area. They themselves decide what products to buy and then sell them with a minimum mark-up. It’s also these same people who take turns working as cashiers, packers, and deliverers.
There’s a good reason the checkout lines are so tight. Let’s say you’re waiting there and, after you take one more look at your cart, you see there are certain things you don’t REALLY need, so it would be better not to buy them. So, you’re looking around trying to find a spot to leave them somewhere aside. Good luck with that!
’’No good deed goes unpunished’’ is an old saying that, unfortunately, often turns out to be true. This is exactly what happened to influencer Amelia Goldsmith from London, UK, whose generosity made her feel regretful and defeated. She shared her story in a TikTok video that garnered thousands of comments, most of which were not very supportive either.
A supermarket can tell you a lot about the residents of a country, like what people eat, what goods they buy most often, and how they behave in public places. Store staff members show the level of service while shelves display goods that can say way more about the culture of the country than any tourist attraction.
Going to the supermarket can turn out to be quite an experience. Most people plan their “trip” ahead of time and even go at a particular hour to avoid having to wait in long lines. Everyone wants their visit to be as fast and efficient as possible. However, these places work in mysterious ways and always end up making us spend more time there than we had planned. If you can relate to this, don’t worry. We’ve all fallen for these tricks at some point, and it’s never too late to spot them so that you can do something about it.
According to Martin Lindstrom, 95% of shoppers know the approximate prices of only 4 items: bread, eggs, milk, and bananas. They have absolutely no idea about how much all the other products might cost. Supermarket bosses often play on this and offer us “big sales” where we can buy everything “at low prices.” To boost sales, they also resort to such secret selling techniques as special arrangements, huge shopping carts, free samples, and even creative lighting.
With the help of colorful advertising, manufacturers manage to sell us absolutely useless things. We diligently search for these items on the supermarket shelves, spend a lot of money on them, recommend them to our friends and family, and then we are disappointed to find out that they are totally useless. Or that they work quite well, but are very overpriced.
There’s nothing wrong for many women asking their partners to pick up tampons for them at the store. While it’s an absolutely normal request, many men are happy to help out in this way. The same was for our today’s hero, a married man, 30, who just wanted to help his wife. But when he went to the store, he unexpectedly got involved into a huge and unpleasant drama, and he wrote to us about it to find out what we and our readers think about the whole situation.
A woman named Samantha Brick is an elementary school teacher. One day, she was left absolutely mad after her workload was doubled, because some parents left her to change the diaper for their 6-year-old son. The woman was so frustrated that she has finally made a furious statement for busy moms and made many people burst with reactions.
The importance of family for every child was a valuable lesson that Shannon Pinkerton learned from her parents, who ran a group home for children with special needs. Now, as an adult, she’s following her parent’s path and built her own family with kids she says “no one wanted.”
Amelia Goldsmith, a London-based influencer, learned the hard way that the saying, “No good deed goes unpunished,” can sometimes ring true. Her act of kindness led to feelings of regret and disappointment. She decided to share her story in a TikTok video, which garnered thousands of comments.
Beauty standards fluctuate every decade, and these days body hair has become more and more acceptable. Orim, a TikToker, constantly flaunts her body hair and encourages other women to embrace their natural selves. In a video, she reveals how one of the surprising outcomes of not shaving is that men stare at her less.
You’re heading to a supermarket to get a few small items. The self-service checkout is way faster than waiting for people to unload their huge shopping carts. But this loud voice from a machine, commanding over and over again, spoils all the appetite. I have some good news for you! You can turn it off. Take a closer look at the screen — you’ll probably see a volume button at the bottom. Use your finger to mute the annoying polite voice once and for all. Not all machines have this hidden option, though. But it’s definitely worth checking out.
When it comes to saving money, people get pretty creative these days. From ingenious to outright absurd, budgeting hacks have taken on various forms. A young couple caused quite a stir on TikTok recently with an exceptionally thrifty tip. However, the hack caused not only giggles but also ignited a discussion, with some commenters even claiming this trick should be illegal.
It’s 10 PM. You suddenly feel hungry and go to the fridge. But there is nothing inside. You decide to hop to the nearest supermarket. There, you find the snack you want and pay by card. On the way home, you wonder: Was it this easy to get food in the city a century ago? One of the streetlights flickers and goes out. You are now in the dark. Feeling scared? Now you know how people felt after sundown in the pre-electricity era.
Do you know what to do when your gym gear gets stuck with pesky stains after your workout? There’s an easy way to get rid of them. Take two aspirin tablets, crush them, and then add warm water. Proceed to apply the mixture to the stains and let it work its magic for about two hours. Wash as normal afterward, and it should do the trick. On the same refreshing note, you can keep your fridge smelling nice and clean using newspaper. I mean literally, not by browsing for the nearest cleaning company to help you with your chores. Just place some newspaper sheets in the bins of your fridge. They can absorb some moisture, keeping the fridge smelling nicer for longer.
Good morning! I’m so happy we’re gonna spend the day together. You see, I stayed up reading about all those common things that you and I never realized actually had purposes. My head’s brimming with all this knowledge! I need to unload it on someone. And you’re the perfect volunteer!
In a supermarket, you pass by a shelf with eggs and try to decide which ones are better, the white ones or the brown ones. There’s practically no difference between them. The eggs’ color depends on the breed of chicken. These birds produce two different color pigments. You can take eggs of any color because the nutritional components of the eggs are almost the same. So what came first — the brown egg or the white egg? Never mind...
Hey, if I said “what time is it?”, you’ll probably look at your phone, laptop screen, or wristwatch to find out. But how do these devices know the time? In your devices, the time is set automatically by the program. But how does this program know the exact time? People set up wristwatches before the sale. But then how do these people know the time? (Does anybody really know what time it is? Hey there’s a song there.) Anyway, how do we determine this time, and what happens if all the clocks in the world stop? Wait a minute! Or longer...
If you weren’t lucky enough to be born rich, then, just like the rest of us mortals, you need to work. So you may find yourself in 2 situations: you land an excellent job, where people are respected and valued, or you get one with a toxic environment. Either way, the important thing is to recognize the difference between a good job and a bad one, so you can understand the red flags in the workplace and start looking for other options. In the end, no one deserves to be tied to certain types of bosses.
Everyday etiquette is not just about choosing the right fork for eating a salad. It is also expressing respect to oneself and to those around. Sometimes seemingly insignificant actions can show a person’s good manners, or, on the contrary, characterize them as a person who could easily insult others.
All of us have lots of habits that are firmly in our lives, and we don’t even notice them because they are just part of our everyday routines. But we never fail to see when someone else doesn’t turn the light off, forgets to lock the door, or puts a coffee jar on the wrong shelf.
We meet other people every day: communicate with them at work or during transport. Unfortunately, sometimes we happen upon people with ulterior motives who try to take advantage of any situation while being pretty arrogant about it. But they do it with an innocent face as if it’s totally okay.
Our reality is an entire industry of treasures and some of its creatures are made in limited editions. We can find such objects anywhere: in a mere supermarket, nature, or apartment. All we have to do is just open this box of puzzles and try to believe our own eyes.
Supermarket shelves are full of different goods that can satisfy any taste, and we often buy foods that we don’t want to eat immediately. Alas, many of them go bad, and we have to throw them away. Luckily, there are simple and reliable methods that will keep your foods fresh for longer.
Going to the supermarket is probably a daily or weekly routine for everyone. For some, it is a pleasure, while for others it can be an annoying chore. Each person goes through it in their own way, and this also speaks to their personality and their way of life. Now, when you walk through a place like this, did you know that behind those shelves that are stocked full of food, there are strategic minds dedicated to trying to influence your decisions?
When it comes time to make choices at the supermarket, some people may have the belief that the most expensive products are the best, but this is not always the case. Sometimes, you can optimize your budget by choosing inexpensive products that have the same quality as the more expensive ones. One alternative you can try is a private label of a large chain, which can offer the same products at lower prices since they don’t make significant investments in certain commercialization, distribution, marketing, and advertising processes.
Another trip to the nearest supermarket turned out to be far from routine for the characters of today’s compilation, all because they saw something they didn’t expect to see. They got so excited by these store discoveries that they rushed to post them online. After all, there are many interesting things to see.
A true artist can find inspiration in almost anything, and it’s not surprising that for many of them, a boring city wall can turn into a perfect canvas. Animals, flowers, people, and even products from the local supermarket — anything can become a part of the city’s history preserved on its walls. Some of these fantastic murals go even further and show curious pieces of local life, like a dog that likes to chill next to a building, or fishermen dragging a boat into the sea across the beach.
Somewhere in a perfect world, manufacturers don’t try to be sneaky and save money when making certain products, internet shops send goods that look exactly like in the photos on their website, and restaurant dishes look exactly like they are shown on the menu. However, in the real world, even the purchases made in a supermarket can become an unpleasant surprise.
Hi, my name is Anatoly Kurganov. I used to work as an IT writer and an analyst. Now I am on paternity leave and raising 3 children. In my spare time, I lead the project Paparium, where I describe my parenting life. My friends, the talented artist Natalia and aspiring writer Oksana, help me create these comics.
Children are not just a joy for their parents, but they’re also little representatives of humanity who can think beyond stereotypes. That’s why their actions and sayings are so necessary at times. They help us remember that life is an exciting game full of humor.
Princess Diana would say, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” Whether we call it karma or the law of the conservation of energy, it’s true that kind actions pay off sooner or later.
We all have come across stereotypes and prejudices regarding appearance, behavior, or social status. Public opinion lives its own life: it’s thanks to it that we often make irrational decisions while trying to build our lives based on it.
No one is safe from awkward situations. Any of us can get caught off guard in the most unexpected places, like in the check-out line at the supermarket, on public transport, or in a fitting room. And no matter how funny it may be to tell this story to friends and family later, we often will do our best not to find ourselves in a similar situation ever again.
The pleasant atmosphere, bright packaging, and discounted price tags make the supermarket an almost ideal place to shop. But this is all just part of their money-making scheme. Not all products are of good quality, and some of them can harm the body. In addition, discounts are often not profitable at all.
