MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Call It “Black Friday”?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Call It “Black Friday”?

Once folks regained consciousness following their turkey coma on the day after Thanksgiving, a large majority of them did what so many red-blooded Americans have done through the years: they went shopping. Last year alone, shoppers spent a record $9.12 billion just in online shopping on “Black Friday”, with that single day bolstering the bottom…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Produce Is Usually At The Front Of Grocery Stores

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Produce Is Usually At The Front Of Grocery Stores

If you’re anything like me, then you’ve run into a grocery store for just one item, but ultimately walked out with armfuls of stuff you hadn’t intended on picking up. Grocery stores are deviously clever at tricking consumers into dropping more money than planned. Is that why the produce section is almost always near the…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are Store Ceilings So High?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are Store Ceilings So High?

Ever wondered why, despite most of their items being stocked on shelves that aren’t much over 6 feet high, many supermarkets & other stores’ ceilings are so high? As in, dozens of feet high. In stores like Sam’s Club or Costco, it makes sense, they stock their bulk inventory to the rafters. But why do…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do Stores Ask For Your ZIP Code?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do Stores Ask For Your ZIP Code?

If you’ve shopped in an actual store any time in the last 10 years or so, you’ve probably experienced that uncomfortable moment at the checkout counter when the cashier asks for your ZIP code. It feels odd & a bit intrusive, since it doesn’t really seem relevant to whatever you’re buying. Soliciting your email address…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Grocery Stores Vs. Supermarkets

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Grocery Stores Vs. Supermarkets

Ever wondered what separates a grocery store from a supermarket? Are there even any real differences? Well, actually…yes, there are! Grocery stores have been around a lot longer than supermarkets. Back in the day, when most towns had a bakery, a butcher shop, and a grocery, the grocery store offered townsfolk an efficient way to…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Customers Are Sometimes Called “Guests”

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Customers Are Sometimes Called “Guests”

For the longest time, businesses called their customers “customers”. But, more & more business owners have begun referring to their customers as “guests”. It’s super-polite and sort of odd. But how did that get started, and why? Well, we have Disney to thank (or blame, depending on how you look at it). Back in 1955,…