Friday, August 12, 2016

Whats a big industry secret that isn't supposed to be known by the general public?

Reddit best answers....
I work at a hospital in an area where there are lots of hospitals. Our ER has an emt lounge with free slushies soda and snack food so the EMT'S

customer service text chat can see what you're typing in the box before you hit send.

Relative of mine was a mystery shopper and did a lot of car garages. He would get sent in with a car and had to get it serviced and reported on how well it was completed/if they found all the faults/ if the customer service was up to scratch etc. The results were usually 6/10, until suddenly every garage was a 10/10 continuously. He investigated as it was a bit suspicious and found "MYS" (Mystery Shopper) written on the bottom of the car he was given. One of the garages sussed him out and wrote it there for future garages to find, and make sure they have it the best possible service.

I attended a songwriting workshop at berklee school of music, and Anna Wise (Grammy winning songwriter, Kendrick Lamar collaborator) told the audience during a presentation that whenever someone "magically" blows up on soundcloud or YouTube, that it's not authentic. A label will sign the artist in secret, and then suddenly boost their viewership tremendously to make it look like the independent artist did it on their own.

A bottle of Windex is basically 95% water 4% ammonia, and 1% blue dye / fragrance. The most expensive part of the product is the bottle.

The fresh chocolate chip cookie scent that can be smelled outside of the Magic Kingdom bakery is artificial. It's piped out there to draw you into the bakery.

Former Dunkin' employee here. We don't check the survey codes at the bottom of your receipt. Any random 5 digits in the space, you've got a free donut with purchase.

15 comments:

edutcher said...

Raspberry flavoring is made from the secretion of the anal gland of the beaver.

Chip Ahoy said...

Ugh to the castor.

It's farmer's market raspberry preserves for now on.

~* ~*~* twinkling music separator *~*~*~*~*

Carpet steam cleaners do not use steam. They use water hot as your own water goes. Steam can actually damage some carpet fibers. It is yet another bogus fake out industry term.

100% whole wheat bread is not 100% whole wheat as you might assume by speaking ordinary English. If it would be then the bread would be like a brick. How do they get away with this? By prevailing in law suits that allow for another bogus fake out industry term. It means it doesn't have any rice in it, or barley, or oats, what have you, rabbit or deer poop, but it hardly uses 100% of of each individual wheat grain. The grain parts are separated at milling and recombined commercially in proportions that work for bread.

Flour manufacturers cannot even tell you where their wheat comes from. It's all mixed by from various sources by its protein level.

But let's be of good cheer instead.

Yesterday I learned that my Nebraska wheat farmer is alive! I thought of that because most his wheat goes to Japan.

And he's retired now, mostly, and lives at his second home very close on Capitol Hill. Still writes checks but that's it. And this whole time I was imagining him dead because he was ill the last time he wrote and he failed to respond to a series of emails over a year. I tried again on a whim, wrote an email to someone I imagined dead. Then suddenly he did respond enthusiastically when I mailed photos of my tiny garden. I was filled with glee.

And not just regular glee that passes, this is stupendous hop around glee that endures.

My little terrace garden does get the attention because
1) I'm such a dummkopf to begin with
2) It's just not done around here.

Jim in St Louis said...

Big Industry secret. OK. When you are buying something on a website and there is a status bar that shows the progress of the download or whatever? And you have your eyes locked on it and you watch it move slowly to the complete side? 25%....28%.....34% etc?

It does not signify any actual process- it is just a graphic that runs to keep you from logging off or hitting refresh.

ndspinelli said...

Following someone doing surveillance is not like you see on TV or movies. I never understand why they make it look easy. It would be more interesting and exciting if they did a more realistic depiction.

ndspinelli said...

Growing up in a restaurant family, when you wonder why "These mashed potatoes are so good." Well, LOTS of butter. That's true for many dishes in restaurants.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"There is much dogma concerning great mashed potatoes. Some famous chefs regard it as essential to have almost equal parts potatoes and butter, but they would have been fired from my mother’s kitchen: her customers expected butter when we ordered butter and potatoes when we were served potatoes. In other words, don’t overdo the added fat. But do consider texture: it’s very important to put the cooked potatoes while hot through a real vegetable mill or a potato ricer (a Cuisinart or blender will give you not a mash but a purée, by my taste buds, that’s good only for wallpaper paste). Always add very hot milk first, then add the butter. For variety, you can replace the butter with olive oil (though it should be heated slightly and added at the end). You can also omit the milk by cooking the potatoes unpeeled and using the starchy water to wet the mash. Season with nutmeg, cumin, or curry, adding parsley, tarragon, dill, or basil. Another bit of dogma that I reject outright is the categorical good of a heavy dose of garlic. Much as I love to cook with garlic, which is wonderful for you, it overwhelms the potato flavors. Let the potato be a potato."

http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/content/mashed-potatoes-imamie’si-version

ndspinelli said...

Guild, My dead Irish mom would love to read your take on mashed potatoes. She drilled into us, "NEVER put cold milk or butter into the potatoes." She was fine w/ a microwave for many things, but when it come to heating milk for mashed potatoes, it was always on the stove.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

I know a lot of high end restaurants add butter and warm cream to mash just to the point where the potatoes will break.

But if you get really fresh good quality potatoes (especially local heirloom types) the flavor is way better. I like them rustic, with the skins. I know purists may not like that, but the skins have both vitamins and flavor.

I also like mashed potatoes with al dente roma green beans added in

rcocean said...

"Well, LOTS of butter. That's true for many dishes in restaurants."

LOL. Very true. Its the same with Chinese stir-fry dishes and Thai curry, its tastes so much better because they go heavy on the Oil or the coconut milk/cream.

rcocean said...

Your Olive Oil "none stick cooking spray" does NOT have zero Calories nor is it "fat free". Basically, they get away with it, because there's too few calories or fat in a 1 second spray. But of course, most people do more than 1 second.

rcocean said...

Mash potatoes are only good with one thing - gravy. Otherwise, give me plain cooked potatoes without the mashing, butter, and milk.

ampersand said...

75% of honey sold in the US is not honey.

ndspinelli said...

Evi, I make mashed potatoes halfway peeled. I make home fries and roasted w/ the skin and always eat the whole baked potato. I love the skin.

XRay said...

My love makes mashed with a little butter, sour cream, and a hint of garlic. They're pretty good. Skins on or off, all good.

"75% of honey sold in the US is not honey."

Really? I'm not disbelieving necessarily but do you have a cite?

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

I got a red potato at the market that had a bright yellow interior, better than a Yukon Gold. It was absolutely great. I saved a few eyes and planted them.