My mind went to "eventual consistency"... time to switch off the internets
Why are shopping carts always broken?
141–150 of 272 posts
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Painkillers are sold in packs of max 16 tablets in the UK (almost always 500mg for paracetamol, 200mg for ibuprofen). In addition they must be sold in blister packs not bottles, and all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction (mix and match, you can’t have 2x paracetamol and 2x ibuprofen). I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. Obviously you can still overdose by going to multiple…
> all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go " fine, but just this time ". This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And…
>This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.
You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrupting you as you get the pills out could be sufficient to move past a particular impulse.
There is also a huge difference in suicide attempt method depending on gender. Women tend to gravitate towards pills, while men are more likely to use a gun.
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean something that would unlock carts based on fingerprints? :)
Why not? I woupd focus on lonking it to everything you can get from your average users phone and other online accounts. Improved targeted advertising or something. Fingerprints are fine, too! whatever helps sell it! Plus, since every cart is matched to a person, no more vandalism or theft!
So NFC reader! Even better. Unlock a cart with your smart watch!
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean something that would unlock carts based on fingerprints? :)
Nah, too complex. Just use BLE with an app and this will unlock the cart. Very low friction and it does the cart customer matching. And make usage of carts mandatory ( door will not open.... )
Go on, go on! I feel we are on to something!
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think "theft" is the correct wording. Rather "taking it with you and not returning." If it really was about stealing (taking and intentionally keeping), the 1€ or free plastic coin you can get at the counter wouldn't deter you at all.
You can unlock the cart with standard european key tip like this https://image.made-in-china.com/202f0j00GpWUwrYJnBoN/Sn-Euro... Most homeless and poor people know this trick. It really is just for general populace who are too gullible to know better.
There are also "shopping cart tokens" which you can put on your keychain, and as they are large enough to unlock the cart, but small enough to not get stuck, they can be directly pulled out, and you don't risk to break your key.
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)
Painkillers are sold in packs of max 16 tablets in the UK (almost always 500mg for paracetamol, 200mg for ibuprofen). In addition they must be sold in blister packs not bottles, and all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction (mix and match, you can’t have 2x paracetamol and 2x ibuprofen). I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. Obviously you can still overdose by going to multiple…
What criteria do you use to evaluate that intervention? Which really means, how do you begin to estimate the actual amount of harm reduction that it provides?
Are there lots of cases where someone tried to overdose but was saved by it 'only' being 16 grams of paracetamol?
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
> all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go " fine, but just this time ". This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And…
>This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach. You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrup…
The impulse has to be to eat the tablets or whatever's on hand. Going all the way to the shop to stock up on tablets does not strike me as impulsive.
So IMHO this restriction is an attempt at limiting the stock people have at home. Although I would argue this is none of the shop's business and, as far as I can gather, this is not a legal restriction.
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)
What do you do with them? I'd guess the total lifetime consumption of any medicine for me and my family is less than 500 pills, a pack of 20 can last more than a year because it's not that often that any of it is needed, and when something happens, you take them for a couple of days and that's it. Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily?
>Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily?
Yes, it's very common, often around joint pain. Surely obesity and sedentary lifestyle play a role.
60 million Americans take Acetaminophen (paracetamol) on a weekly basis.
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)
What do you do with them? I'd guess the total lifetime consumption of any medicine for me and my family is less than 500 pills, a pack of 20 can last more than a year because it's not that often that any of it is needed, and when something happens, you take them for a couple of days and that's it. Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily?
*ding ding ding*
Your nose is running? Pop some NyQuil. Hangover? NyQuil. Headache from the cold? NyQuil. Cold? NyQuil.
Just look at the list of symptoms it helps with at their site: https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/nyquil
https://tedium.co/2021/11/03/nyquil-cold-medicine-history/
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-cha...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_...
Re: Why are shopping carts always broken?
#150Fact is, shopping carts are not always broken.