June 4, 1937
SHOPPING CARTS.
1937 was when the first shopping cart was introduced. Before that shopping was limited to what a person could carry.
They still haven’t perfected the shopping cart.
So what makes you think you are going to buy the perfect smartphone or automobile? What makes you think the NEXT tattoo will be perfect? NOPE!
Unfortunately, they do know how to drastically improve the shopping cart, but they won’t because that would make them worth stealing: Larger wheels! Imagine a cart that doesn’t have a wheel axle clogged with mop strings or a strand of plastic wrap! Much larger wheels would make them a smoother ride and easier to push out to your car. There’s no real value to the tiny wheels is there!
CHECK OUT LINES.
Speaking of shopping, there is one weird line Americans are willing to wait in according to “The Atlantic.” Self-Check Out… I see no advantage in time or irritation in that line. The “professional” cashier line is faster and easier, plus there is less risk of being accused of theft. Why do you, the unprofessional and unpaid laborer, want to look up the price of Zebra apples, weigh them, and move the product to the “bagging area?” Then, you have to bag it yourself … for free. How is that an advantage? When I go to the “professional in charge” line I can spend my spare time pulling out coupons, pocket lint, and credit card. While groceries are being beeped I can scan my card and put it safely away. The groceries are bagged and all I need do is move the bags to my cart and leave. It is labor-de-intensified.
The only time I use the “unprofessional” line is when I have 10 or fewer, or when I have the occasional “crushable” product that I don’t want someone else to mishandle, on top of which that person may throw a can of tomato soup. I solve that mishandling issue fairly well in the “better line” by arranging my purchases correctly on the service belt. Heavier and bulky items first; sensitive last. Eggs are always last; bags of potatoes are always first. Simple. The “professional” doesn’t have a chance to crush the eggs with the potatoes.
The cost is the same, and I can stare at the screaming child in the “do it yourself lane” and thank God I will not be waiting an extra 4 minutes while dealing with that. So, the “professional” lane is the BLESSED lane as well.
MORE SHOPPING CARTS.
There is ONE huge way you can avoid all the problems with carts at the store. Take your own. If you don’t have a family of 15 it can work. First, you don’t have to touch those grimy handles that a thousand others have handled. Second, you don’t have to risk being run down as you attempt to return the cart to the cart corral. Third, in cold, hot, or rainy weather, you just fold the thing and throw it in the trunk instead of dealing with another 45 seconds of the weather stuff. Just get in and drive away! At Aldi-type stores you don’t have to dig in your purse, or the car, for a quarter. Third, if you purchase a quality one that will last it will have big wheels, be right sized, will be easier to maneuver in the aisles.
PRICE INCREASES.
There has never been a time when groceries have cost less than they did the year before. Oh, sure! Egg prices dropped, but bananas went up 2 cents per pound. Coffee is more expensive every year.
The press is making a HUGE deal about the increases caused by tariffs, but those same papers made almost no deal about the 8.7% inflation under the last president (nearly 25% increase in prices over 4 years). I think we ALL are doing much better this year compared to those years. There is always something that hurts the wallet.
What the same story (about tariffs) fails to mention is that inflation in 2025 has been BELOW average even with the tariffs. Average is 3.2%. I’m happy! You should be, too! But some are only happy when they can be unhappy. Let them!
There’s something you can do to reduce your grocery prices, by the way. We go to a discount store (like Aldi). The price of a can of green beans is 7-8% below the supermarket (like Kroger). You can’t survive without name brand? Fine! Spend more! If you warm them in a pan, however, and put some on the kids’ plates without telling them they’ll never know. They will just think they are green beans. Same nutrition only costs less.
We have friends who only shop at Magic Joe’s. We buy oranges for half of what they pay per pound. I let them pay as much as they want. I’m not the money saving police. Same vitamin C but costs less.
Copyright 2026 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
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