The Milo-tin Dilemma
Yesterday afternoon was a sad one. Whist having a snack after a long day of work, I made myself a Milo. My Milo tin has been growing empty recently, a sure sign that I need to go to the supermarket reasonably soon. This meant that I had to do a little bit of extra work to get the last bit out, which I’m not upset about - having to work for a Milo makes it somehow better. But the real problem was that I couldn’t get the last bit out of the tin. No matter how much I twisted, shook and attacked the tin, there remained a sizeable amount caught under the lip of the tin which was impossible to dislodge. Short of actually pouring milk into the tin, then shaking it, and having to go through similar amounts of trouble to get all the milk out, there was no way to get that last bit of Milo that I had legitimately paid for.
This got me to thinking about just how many companies deliberately contrive their products such that you can never get the last bit out. On the whole, as a commercialist society, we’re being had. Have you ever managed to get the last bit out of the toothpaste tube? How about that last sip out of a soft-drink can? And the barbeque sauce bottle, ever squeezed the last bit out after you forgot to go to the supermarket and buy some more?
Why do we let this continue? We have paid for these products with our own money, and we are casually forfeiting the remaining portion. Students and upset consumers alike are having a swift one pulled on them by the large companies, and it makes me sick. From now on I’ll dissect toothpaste tubes, puncture soft-drink cans and slice up sauce bottles to get that last bit that so often gets forgotten about, and I implore you to do the same.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Well now Will has posted there is no reason to go to demonbaby to get your daily blog fix…
or is there?
Will, if you feel you are being stiffed by the great milo dispenser god, you can buy the 1kg milo refill packs and a bulldog clip. Then there is no rim for the milo to get caught under in the plastic packs and the milo is cheaper. The only downside to this otherwise billiant plan is you would have nothing to rant about.
jamesd (of the jungle)
October 31st, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Ye-ah! I had the same problem with my GIANT coffee tin the other day… you just CAN’T get it out…. ! (Glad to know this wasn’t just a GeM-fault, is a problem experienced by the general population)
My favourite is the fact they always sell shampoo and conditioner in the same size container. Nobody uses the same amount of shampoo and conditioner. Ever.
This universal truth means there is always conditioner left once the shampoo is empty forcing you to purchase the same brand again (because you want the smells to match).
Grr for well-thought out marketing ploys.
Yay for demonbaby.
Woohoo for the first post of swot-vac.
October 31st, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Can I put down my cat’s inability to kill a moth this week (he’s tried two) under the same sort of a category? He just keeps singing for me to pick his back legs off the ground so he can march up the wall, but then it all goes wrong. He delicately sniffs them, and paws them ever so slightly, and if he manages to eventually knock them off the wall, the dog runs over and drags one heavy paw across their body, smearing them across the floor.
It’s *sorta* like not being able to get the milo out…
October 31st, 2006 at 7:54 pm
macguyver I had no idea they sold Milo in 1kg refill packs, I thought they only came in the smaller sizes. It does solve one problem, but what about the toothpaste and the soft-drink can eh? And don’t you worry about me running out of stuff to post about, I’ve got a long list of topics lined up for swot-vac and the ensuing exam period!
GeM, whilst your conclusion about why people buy the same shampoo as their still-full conditioner bottle is a little silly, I do agree that you always end up using the shampoo first. Those crazy hair-care magnates, why do we let them get away with it?
Sandune, I’m not entirely sure what to say to that. I can’t really compare your cat’s inability to kill moths to being ripped off by large commercial companies, but maybe that’s just me. Thanks for the story though…crazy and random though it was!
October 31st, 2006 at 8:38 pm
Oh how I yearn for the days when I had no taste… There was something delightfully simple about mixing 3 desertspoons each of Milo, Instant Coffee and Sugar, adding boiling water and milk to taste then being able to stay up… forever.
We named it the depth charge and hearalded it’s mix of Low GI milo, fast acting sugar, long lasting caffine and mood inducing endorphins as the perfect remedy for droopy eyes, breakfast time hunger and stain removal.
Then there was lunch: four slices of bread, 250 grams of cheese and a jaffle iron leading to what could only be described as a slice of heaven melted inside a sandwich. This of course was followed by a chaser of the aforementioned drink.
Those were the days when even food preparation didn’t get in the way of study! Now with this *taste* its esspresso coffee only, freshly ground beans of course and sliced tomatoes and cheese sandwiches no jaffel iron. Infact today I found myself cutting the cheese into triangles to attempt a tessalation in a bid to yield an optimised coverage of my slice of bread.
Tommorrow will be different… I can’t go without the esspresso but peanut butter on toast with butter on top and below (at least someone has to attack the 1.5 kilogram supply of crunchy peanut butter in the cupboard). That and a good pair of board shorts, the loud ones that say “Im so cool I still go clothes shopping with my mum”
Then swotvac will really be underway…
November 1st, 2006 at 12:40 am
what about toothpaste in bags, twist tie ones, just dunk the brush in and your off!!
or young will could invest in a bagless cyclonic vacuum and suck it out of the tin and then tip in into the cup… but we already know all he really has to do is drill a small hole in the bottom and lip seal the top (yes his mouth is that big) and away you go.
or get off the computer and develop some sort of teleportation technology and give dave the royalties. yay!
i like swat vac… the smell of sitting down for two long, the loud click in the legs after trying to walk, reading boring boring stats til your ready to inflict bodily harm onto yourself and check out the New Zealand Soccer or Basketball teams make fools of themselves!
or check out MC Hammer’s blog which he ends every entry with Hammertime!… something i’d like to invest in actually…
Hammertime over… try a nail gun!
November 1st, 2006 at 12:47 am
Thanks for posting Will, now I can rest easy knowing I have plenty more to procrastinate over tomorrow.
With regards to getting that last little bit of money’s worth, I hope I’m not being too serious here and I missed the whole point completely, but don’t worry, you didn’t pay for it.
I understand you may think you did, but you didn’t. You paid for the convience of having the food packaged and easy to buy, store and serve, not that actual food itself.
So, don’t worry about that last little bit Will. Feel comforted by the assurance that there’s plenty more back where you got it, ready to be bought, stored and served.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:20 pm
Can’t say I’ve seen toothpaste in twist-tie bags Dave, but I’ll have to keep an eye out. Glad to see you have an idol in MC Hammer, how old is that guy now?
Wait, so Michael, are you saying that I’m paying for the convenience of the packaging rather than the actual product itself? Isn’t that a little absurd? Surely only a certain proportion of the cost of the product is associated with the design, manufacture, and distribution of the packaging?
November 1st, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Mummy I made a boo boo…
james’ viewfinder?
November 1st, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Are you managing to get any study done macguyver? I should warn you, fiddling with WordPress is a time-consuming hobby. Especially over swot-vac! But hey, enjoy!
November 1st, 2006 at 9:37 pm
Well, Will, you gave me further reason to procrastinate. Have a look at this document.
Food Marketing Costs
To sum up, go to Figure 2. The farm value was 20%, and marketing bill was 80%, and that was way back in 2000. True those are American figures, but Australia wouldn’t be far behind, particularly six years later.
November 1st, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Yeah, but Milo doesn’t come from a farm Micheal, HAH! And neither does toothpaste!
I know, I know, the same probably holds for Milo and toothpaste. Man I wish I was right, maybe even sometimes. Very resourceful of you to find an official report and everything though! Kudos!
November 1st, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Well it doesn’t come from some wacky factory with half sized people walking around singing like their off their rockers on ICE!
And the Hammer is immortal… such is the damage he did to society with those god awful pants such a long time ago.
macguyver… seriously, get some personality bout that sad site of yours… or some one to look at it at least… well people that don’t mistakenly click on whatever booby trap link you leave here!
Denny Crane