choice overload

[naomind]

Holy hell, I'm turning into a curmudgeon because of all the pointless choices that add so much time and uncertainty to the buying process. For example, it used to take zero brain power for me to go to the store and grab my chosen toothpaste (Crest Sensitive) and leave without bemoaning the fate of humanity. Nowadays, I have given up ENTIRELY on

Comments

[sculpin]

This is part of why I have become a shameless hippie. When I don't have to consider whitening materials or freaky artificial scents, it streamlines the shopping process considerably, or so I've found. Of course, I am now a dingy-toothed freak who smells merely of herbal shampoo, but it's a small price to pay.

My dentist, btw, really hates this whitening trend. Besides its effects on enamel, he thinks that people who whiten their teeth tend to look pretty weird and unnatural.

[naomind]

I agree that the white often stands out too much. Where are the 4 out of 5 dentists when we need them?

I mostly buy hippie products too, but even Tom's has gotten on the whitening bandwagon, so I've got to be careful.

[sculpin]

Et tu, Tom!

[anonamys]

Re OB: the Ultra is what the Super used to be. They just re-labelled everything to the industry standard. (And, well, some people *need* the bigger sizes.)

[naomind]

They can make tampons as big as people need, I won't mind:) But. How hard would it be to label them by some quantifiable amount? "2 tablespoons"? "4 oz"? "10cc"? Yes, I know, women would be grossed out by the volume aspect, right?

[nihilistech]

The clothing size thing is nerve-wracking! There should not be a size 0, and I should not be able to conceive of wearing.
It's particularly bad for me, since I'm always trying to monitor my weight not going UNDER a certain point, and since I don't have a scale handy these days, when I shop for clothes I'm always wondering whether it's me or them that's making a Size 2 the best fit.

I've managed to avoid the tooth-whitening toothpastes, somehow. But I echo your AAARRGHGHGHGHGH in all this.

Happy birthday, btw.

[naomind]

I wish clothing could be sized in a more objective way, that correlated to, say, reality. Like jeans sizes being measured by the waist in inches, and the inseam. I know it throws everything off when there are hips involved, but that could be a measurement too, right?

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

[kr1k]

Reminds me of the Onion article: U.S. Dentists Can't Make Nation's Teeth Any Damn Whiter

I definitely agree with you. I've started buying various natural/organic/hippy/whatever brands just to avoid the obnoxious packaging and smells of mainstream products.

[morghon]

Kid's toothpastes generally don't have the whitening agents. They taste yummy too.