Redditor littleallred008 wanted to compare notes on all the degraded quality in the world of retail.
"What has simultaneously gotten worse and more expensive?"
Fast food in general. Wendy's? Your potatoes are shriveled and sad. They used to make me happy.
Ronald?
big mac 80s GIFGiphy"Big Macs. That burger 'patty' is a stones throw away from being a slice of roast beef."
badmangoodguy
Read Closer
"Cable/ Internet providers. Oh yes sorry your trial period was over, your bill went up 200 dollars. Oh no we didn't promise you 200mb/s download speed constantly, we said UP TO. read the fine print."
demonardvark
"In the US, if you’re lucky enough to live in a place with more than one option, call and threaten to cancel (speak with retentions) at the end of your contract."
"You should be able to renew at a better rate (maybe not as good as the trial offer). I actually just switch every year between Comcast and AT&T. I just set a calendar reminder for the following year once I sign a new contract. It’s a small hassle but worth it to save hundreds per year."
sameoldtexans
Skin
"I swear that Reese's peanut butter cups have gotten shi**ier over the years. the peanut butter seems chalkier and the chocolate tastes blander.
Plus I can't ever seem to pry them out of that little cup wrapper without leaving the bottom chocolate 'skin' stuck to it...
"I think the push to put them in the freezer and eat them chilled is a ploy to cover the declining quality."
thatstupidthing
No place like no home...
"As someone shopping for a house, I have to say homes. Not only has the real estate market been ridiculously inflated (especially in NYC, my residence), I'm finding that the actual quality of a lot of these homes are absolute crap. Due to the ability to find and source cheap materials and labor, developers are able to make huge profits off high prices and low costs. It's making me really rethink if I want buy a house, or just use all that money to aggressively invest."
orange_cuse
Not so Wild
I Hate You Wings GIF by The BachelorGiphy"Buffalo Wild Wings. I don’t know if it’s just me, but their prices have gone up and the quality has gone down."
ChongerHonger333
From my reviews, wings in general have just taken a hit.
Never Lasting
Show Off Renee Zellweger GIF by Working TitleGiphy"Clothes, very few companies make clothes to last and fast fashion is rising while the cost of items continue to increase!"
Longest_YeahBoi_Ever
Yuck
"Scented candles, Yankee Candle in particular used to be the candle that was considered premium. But while they've never been cheap at least a while ago it was worth the money. But now they're just exorbitant in price, they don't smell like they used to, and they are not worth the money."
llcucf80
Use an IPhone...
"Photo booths! Oh the old ones were so cool! Four different real photos for 1 dollar. - Now you pay $ 7 for four identical bad laser prints."
aSadGirlsTongue
"This is why we bought all the supplies and just made one ourselves, super easily. Literally bought a backdrop & frame, all the fancy lighting, props, tablet, tablet stand, color printer, and even the little clicker thing to press when to take the photo."
"All of that off of Amazon, for less than 1/3 the price we were quoted to rent one from a company. And now we have a photo booth... lol. We can be that cool couple that can bring a whole photo booth setup anytime we're invited to our friend's weddings, parties, events, etc."
Rachelalala
Ruined
"The Cadbury Egg is honestly the most disappointing to me, because nearly every one of the food products mentioned has plenty of viable alternatives that haven't been ruined. You can find a thousand high-quality chocolate bars or ice creams or whatever."
"But the Cadbury Egg is a singularly unique product. There's nothing else like it on Earth, so once Cadbury ruined the recipe, it was a treat lost forever."
KlaatuBrute
Learning
Robin Williams Movie GIFGiphy"My university education, specifically this year. They are raising tuition AND fall semester has no in-person sessions."
BlueKnightBrownHorse
Pay Up
"College tuition. When I hear college used to be paid with a summer job, my eyes get watery. I’m a college student."
MsMeself
"I didn't pay for mine on a summer job but worked nights and lived alone and could take 3 classes a semester + summer classes (and paid 1/3 rent) with the money I made."
DpvReno
"A friend of mine pays for his own tuition and covers some house bills for his single mom because he lives at home but he works 2-3 jobs year round, one of them being construction. I don't know how he does it. He's stressed and tired all the time."
trottingtriever
“save and share”
"Smarties. Never been right since they got rid of all the artificial colours. Better for you, I'm sure, but chemical blue was the best flavor."
BlindMansJesus
"Went to poop when they got rid of the tube and replaced it with that weird hexagon box. Actually all my childhood favorites taste worse when you find out Nestle makes them all."
"I can’t stand the box that they’ve split into three sections trying to get you to 'save and share.' If I wanna open the box and pour the lot down my gullet, that is my Canadian-born right."
msstirius
Dang Bucket
"I’m sure this will get overlooked but KFC. I remember growing up a whole family could eat there and it was great! Now it’s just garbage, super greasy, and will cost you an arm and a leg for a dang bucket of chicken. They have gotten way worse and the price has went up."
rprider1a1a2435
Frozens
Ben And Jerrys Empowerment GIFGiphy"Ice cream with fudge in it. Used to get massive slabs of fudge now they just have tiny nuggets."
ThatFinnishGu
"I can pretty much only stand to buy Ben and Jerry's these days. It ruined other 'frozen dairy desserts' for me."
marvlyn
the cheapest bidder...
"New homes. Cookie cutter houses, built with cheap contractors who cut corners left and right, situated in neighborhoods with ever higher HOA fees: and the HOAs are getting more expensive too."
aznuke
"I agree with this one. I thought buying a newly built home would be great. Turns out everything is cheap. Those nice looking base boards? Particle board. Cabinets? Particle board. Nice front door? it’s plastic and warps when the temperature changes."
"Everything ‘looks’ nice, but at the core it’s all super cheap material that was installed as fast as possible by the cheapest bidder."
fanpoppa749
Greedy Mickey
"Disney Theme Parks. (Speaking pre Covid world). They were better when you could do an entire park in a day, cost much less, like $40 vs whatever the insane price is now, and they limited who could get in."
"Universal is the same way, specifically Halloween Horror nights. It was $15 the first time I went, they capped how many tickets they sold and you had time to do every house plus a couple of rides. It was my favorite and we would go every year."
"Now? It's like $70 for a ticket, you have to buy fast pass for another $30 or $40 just so you have a chance to do every house because the lines can literally be hours long because they don't cap ticket sales and they recycle the same houses but pretend it's a new theme. It's so miserable we stopped going."
BrokenCankle
House Stuff
Giphy"Certain house appliances. My grandma has had the same fridge for 40 years. My parents recently had to replace theirs. It's their third in 20 years."
I_hate_traveling
"On the other hand, you don't want a 40 year old fridge because they are super energy inefficient."
lyrasorial
"Imagine how efficient those old fridges could be with modern technology and materials but the old mechanical design and quality control."
ICC-u
We like Bigger!
"I remember the donuts at Dunkin' Donuts to be bigger and cheaper."
Aero222
"When Donuts were their main thing. now, with all of the sandwiches, breakfast foods, shakes, smoothies, etc... donuts are an after thought."
politicsdrone704
I feel like life itself has degraded and become too expensive in general.
Thankfully, they share the road with other drivers who offer a passing glimpse into their world from inside their vehicles.
Curious to hear about some of the strange sights seen on the road, Redditor randomuser0375 asked:
"Truckers of Reddit, what are some of the stranger things you’ve seen from your elevated vantage point looking down into other cars?"
Peculiar sights briefly distracted these drivers from paying attention to the road ahead.
King Of The Road
"I saw a lion in a car. Real one."
– DeliciousRedStuff
Burger Holder
"Obligatory not a trucker but I saw a woman eating a cheeseburger from the front pocket of her shirt while driving."
"Thought it was hilarious."
– KuroiSuisei
A New Friend
"Well the strangest thing I’ve ever had happen to me was a woman trying to pass me (loaded going up a hill) she succeeded until I went down the hill. Then on the next hill, she drove by me, and smiled then waved."
"I was so taken aback I didn’t know how to react. Usually, they’re pissed, but she was smiling and waving while drinking her morning coffee."
– bL0oDlUsT218
Furry Passenger
"Strangest thing I've seen was a goat riding in the passengers seat like a person -- even had a seatbelt on."
– v3gas21
Variety Show
"In heavy traffic around Boston, on the Tobin Bridge, this guy reading a full-size newspaper, unfolded and completely obscuring his view. Every now and then he would fold down one corner slightly, and creep forward."
"A bunch of different women steering with their knees, putting on makeup in the rear view mirror. A guy watching a movie on his cell phone. He was all over the road, speed all over the place."
"Have seen people shaving, changing clothes, etc."
"A surprising number of people drive without pants."
– Scrounger888
Soups And Signing
"Came up next this slow-moving driver, looked over and she was eating a BOWL OF SOUP."
"I guess she was driving slow to try to reduce spilling as much as possible. Like... put it in a thermos or a bowl with lid or... eat something not liquid?!"
"Also, there's this couple I've seen a couple times near the yard. Passenger must be deaf, because the driver is signing to them, and has to look over for several seconds straight to see them signing back."
– xrbxwingless
A New Passenger
"Lady giving birth...so much blood."
– AH0LE_
It takes talent.
Strike A Chord
"Saw a guy practicing his guitar while driving."
– suburbanhero22
Showing Some Brass
"I once saw a guy driving on I-35 in a minivan playing a trumpet. And no, that isn't a euphemism for anything."
– Newbaumturk69
Pleasure Cruise Control
"As an aside me and some buddies were driving on the interstate through a tight gorge with winding curves and it had to be 3 or 4 in the morning. My friend who’s riding up front looks out the window and starts laughing hysterically. We finally get him to calm down enough to tell us what he saw. Come to find out, he saw a truck driver watching porn while jacking it all while pulling a 53’ heavily loaded flatbed trailer in the dark."
– smokeshowwalrus
Multi-Tasker
"A lady trying to change her baby's diaper while steering with her damn knees."
– No-Inspector-420
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"My dad is a truck driver for 20+ years. Many sex acts… but my favorite is: a lady with a cutting board on her lap, cutting up fruit and putting it into a bowl on the passenger seat. Yes.. while driving. Making a damn fruit salad on the road."
– jammf_is_bae
Exhibitionists? Perhaps.
Fast Clothes Change
"It was night time.. saw another truck driver with the interior cab lights on in texas on I35."
"Guy was using cruise control and was out of the driver seat butt naked and changing clothes while going down the road at 65mph."
– monofloyed
To See And Be Seen
"You got your bjs, girls flashing, arguments and throwing things at each other, applying make-up in the little sun blocker mirror while driving."
"But my all time favorite 2 is the little dog humping a subway bag in the front seat and the white kid that caught me catching him watching porn on his tablet in the back seat... hope 2022 is even better."
– Nymbus00
Pleasure Trips
"Over the years I’ve seen people (while driving) eating, writing, watching TV, doing crossword puzzles, getting dressed, putting on makeup and painting fingernails."
– slawhammer011
It Was Thanksgiving 2015
"Driving near midnight in Michigan around Thanksgiving 2015. The interstates in Michigan have a lower speed limit for trucks than for standard autos, plus average drivers speed more than truckers since a lot of the company rigs are governed anyways."
"So I was used to whatever cars were on the road blowing past me. Saw headlights in the mirror and expected to get passed in a minute, but no one passed me. Looked down to see a small truck like a ford ranger matched speed with me, interior lights on, pants pulled down to his knees as he drove."
"As soon as he saw me, he clicked the light off and sped away. Craziest thing I saw in my year on the road."
– captjacksparrowshat
It's an unsettling thought to think of so many people sharing the road who are not actually fully focused on driving.
Texting and driving is illegal in some parts of the country, but there ought to be regulations on other driving offenses, like, oh, pleasuring onself with one hand on the wheel.
Because how embarrassing would it be for drivers to get caught in a traffic accident with their pants down.
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