Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why are shopping carts always broken?

cnn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 272 posts

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#11

Post by al_borland »

justinclift wrote: post #4

> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug stores"?

For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally have the small baskets, not the large carts one might find at a grocery store.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#12

Post by justsomehnguy »

justinclift wrote: post #4

> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug stores"?

Do people in other countries buy paracetamol and aspirin in 10L bottles so they wouldn't need to run their F4999 trucks to a drugstore every week?

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#13

Post by markdown »

mc32 wrote: post #8
leviathant wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Horrible people is certainly one way of describing the population of an area with extreme income inequality.

What’s income have to do with how you treat a shopping cart? I’ve been to in places in Asia with very poor (poor compared to the poor people in the US) people and they treated their shopping carts better than wealthy people in the US. There is better social cohesion and respect for other people's property. Now, there are some oddities in that if they find you lying on the street hurt, most will pass you by and kind o…

How much time did you spend watching poor asians push carts?

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#14

Post by zonkerdonker »

RecycledEle wrote: post #2

The percentage of shopping carts that are broken tells you about the character of the local population. The article's byline credits Eva Rothenberg, whose LinkedIn lists her as living in New York City. There must be horrible people there. Here in Waxahachie, TX, there are almost no broken shopping carts, and people help when there is a broken cart.

What an absolutely wild conculsion to draw from the article. What even is the impetus for it? Just your bog standard lib owning? Or do you genuinely believe that the shopping carts are in better shape in your neck of the woods because the people are what...? Of higher moral fiber? Not ...i dunno, maybe due to the presumably massively higher usage of the carts in the big apple? Or the harsher weather? Or literally dozens of other more plausible reasons?

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#15

Post by mc32 »

markdown wrote: post #13
mc32 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s income have to do with how you treat a shopping cart? I’ve been to in places in Asia with very poor (poor compared to the poor people in the US) people and they treated their shopping carts better than wealthy people in the US. There is better social cohesion and respect for other people's property. Now, there are some oddities in that if they find you lying on the street hurt, most will pass you by and kind o…

How much time did you spend watching poor asians push carts?

The carts at the discount supermarket always worked and they were not walked home, that’s for sure.

People there are admirably hard workers. They don’t beg. They’ll do all kinds of itinerant and odd jobs but they don’t panhandle.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#16

Post by acover »

puzzledobserver wrote: post #10

I don't use shopping carts because my groceries typically fit in a shopping basket. What I find frustrating about my local grocery store is when they inexplicably rearrange items. One week, bread is stocked in one aisle. Suddenly, on my next trip to the store, the same brand of bread has moved two aisles over. Part of the reason why I switched to having groceries delivered.

They do it so you have to explore and buy the high margin items, not bread.

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#19

Post by tekla »

RecycledEle wrote: post #2

The percentage of shopping carts that are broken tells you about the character of the local population. The article's byline credits Eva Rothenberg, whose LinkedIn lists her as living in New York City. There must be horrible people there. Here in Waxahachie, TX, there are almost no broken shopping carts, and people help when there is a broken cart.

[flagged]

Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?

#20

Post by slimsag »

al_borland wrote: post #11
justinclift wrote: post #4

> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug stores"?

For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally ha…

Really it's the opposite. It's called a pharmacy, but in practice it is a convenience store first, and a pharmacy second. Often times the pharmacy is closed, has restricted hours, is understaffed, etc.
Post reply on HN