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Halloween shrinkage
Halloween brings out ghosts and goblins and all sorts of spooky happenings. Some of the scary things are discussed a lot. Some are not.
For instance, to me, something frightening is the Pack Mentality, a condition which rises tenfold at this time of year. It takes over the leaders of the future, in epidemic proportion, causing thousands of them to all dress in similar attire.
Every year there is some "must have" costume. And every year there are hundreds of parents driving from one Halloween store to the next in order to find the last one on the shelf.
This year, expect to see a lot of Zombies and Angry Birds at your door.
And what about the "I can do better" syndrome, which turns perfectly normal neighbors into ghoulish competitors, converting front lawns into elaborate cemeteries, rafters into bat caves, and flower pots into witches' stews.
But what is most scary and getting scarier every year, is the state of the candy bar.
What used to be five or six inches (don't go where I think your mind is going) taking several minutes to finish, allowing time to savor the sweetness, can now be consumed in one simple bite. Open mouth. Close. Chew. Swallow. Where is the fun in that?
Those six inches cost about fifteen cents. Today, that mini-bite costs about a quarter.
We're getting less. Paying more.
Perhaps dieters appreciate the smaller candies. Just one little bite isn't much. But I suspect that one bite often leads to two, which then leads to three and so on (after all, they're just little bits). In my opinion the little sized candies are a detriment to someone watching their weight.
But I can't change the future. Candy will no doubt continue to shrink in size (much like old men) as their cost goes up.
No, I can't change progress (if you can call it that) but I can preserve my memories of Halloween. Those cold wintry "trick or treat" nights, walking with my neighbors, sucking on candy cigarettes (remember those?) excited to get home and go through my candy stash.
At least that part hasn't changed for the kids of today.
If this ever ends, then it will truly be a scary state of affairs.
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Comments (43)
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 11:28 pmSooooo true! Nice job! So sad that it isn't safe to run all over town trick or treating. Especially sad when hospitals offered to x-ray candy and fruit. Doubly sad when there is a need to.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Thu Nov 1, 2012 at 9:13 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 8:10 pmI do have a sugar addiction, and can consume a ton of mini candy bars. They just don't satisfy, do they? Thank goodness there are no kids on my street. So this year there is no candy in my house except for a few eucalyptus cough lozenges. : ) Happy spook day, everyone.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 8:45 pm
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 7:14 pmGood post, and so true. The only thing that hasn't shrunk is my weight! LOLReply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 7:23 pm
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 5:35 amWhat a fun post! (Except now I want a Kit-Kat bar.) I remember when candy was appropriately-sized, too. And I think there's a lot to your theory that the smaller the piece the larger the appetite. Yes. I really should test that theory...by the way—this is my first visit to The Powder Room. I'm signing on. What a fabulous site! xoxomReply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 9:12 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 4:33 amA 5 stick pack of gum!! That's what I remember as a great treat, and that is about enough gum for me for a long time, not a mega pack.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 9:10 am
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Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 4:09 am
They just don't taste the same anymore. Remember that nasty orange and black taffy stuff? yuk. And rolling yards?;)Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 9:09 am
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Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 2:13 am
I remember when I was a kid, Dad would buy these massive Tootsie Rolls, the size of a big cigar, from Knights of Columbus, and hand those out. I haven't seen them in years. Now Tootsie Rolls are about the size of a peanut. Whatever was left after Halloween he'd take to his class (he taught anatomy) and use them as rewards for correct answers.Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 2:16 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 2:07 amI am still in the 70's when it comes to Halloween! My kids do a theme every year. Last year the four of them were the characters from Scooby Do. Nothing funnier than a little 3 year old dressed as Thelma with the black rimmed glasses and my five year old with a girl's pixie blond wig and an ascot! This year is comic book heroes. As far as the candy goes.....we still give the full size candy bars! We have cars full of "country kids" that come to the village. We get about 200 goblins and LOVE every minute of it. So come on over!Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 2:16 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 1:08 amI'm with you on the size of candy bars. Do I need the calories, no I don't but I don't need to pay more for less either. Loved your post.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 1:20 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 1:06 amThey've been doing that with with all types of groceries for years. The trickiest is when they keep the size of the box the same but just put less in it. I think it is because brands think that giving less product is better than raising price.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 1:07 am
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Report Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 12:20 amSize does matter!Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:40 am
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Wed Oct 31, 2012 - 12:18 am
What's this about old men shrinking? :-(Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:40 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 11:48 pmMy beef is that chocolate isn't really even chocolate anymore! It's some waxy chocolate-type substance. Bleh.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:39 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 11:15 pmWe received a 5-pound chocolate bar as a Christmas present last year, Janie. Yum! But I didn't ask how much it cost. As a chocoholic, I wish those candy bars were as large and cheap as they used to be. Oh, well.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:39 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 10:40 pmI have to admit, I sort of envy those neighborhoods where every house goes all-out. Where we live, nobody does nothin'. Not even trick-or-treaters!Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:38 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 10:10 pmI have no problem with smaller candy, but I do have a problem paying more!Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:38 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 9:30 pmOMG! You are so right. And it's just darn awful.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:38 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 9:15 pmMy son actually made some of those cigarettes - not the edible ones, but the ones that puff out that powder. He rolled up thin paper and put flour inside or something. They worked! You can buy the real candy ones on the internet but they aren't cheap.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 12:37 am
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 7:42 pmLove your fresh take and yes my mind wandered on the 6 inch comparison! He he. I agree with the pack mentality. Kinda scary. Especially when 14-16 year olds think it's stil OK for them to go door to door.Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Tue Oct 30, 2012 at 8:26 pm
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 7:35 pmI guess the best thing about the shrinkage is that ...they can't really go ANY smaller from here right? (unless they figure out a way to make them digital)Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Tue Oct 30, 2012 at 8:26 pm
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Report Tue Oct 30, 2012 - 7:13 pmI couldn't agree more about dieters and candy bar shrinkage! Inevitably I buy and then open a bag of Halloween candy that I love--Baby Ruth, Snickers--and start with "just one." But they're so small, my head tells me, and that one taste was not enough... Then it starts. Seriously, I'd do better to buy one regular sized bar because I'd stop there. But I never do that. I never buy candy bars. Just the "fun size" for Halloween giveaways. Where I don't have my usual boundaries...Reply
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1 reply, Last reply by Janie Emaus on Tue Oct 30, 2012 at 8:25 pm
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