Having lived with my brain for the past few decades, I've grown quite accustomed to it. So there are certain things I do without thinking and without realizing that they're weird until somebody tells me that I'm being weird.
Not that that inspires me to change my ways or anything.
So, recently, it's come to my attention that my grocery shopping habits are weird. Specifically, I do not buy food with photographs of people on the package. I avoid food with drawings of people, but I can overcome that if the food is really good and/or on sale. But photos? Forget it.
I made some comment about this to a friend and she looked at me like I was insane. You could argue, though, that it's unnatural to have people on food labels. The label should show you the contents, right? When I first moved to Russia, I certainly relied more on the pictures than the words. So the simplest, clearest picture always won out. You could argue that I'm just exercising brand loyalty now.
You could argue that. Except that this isn't a new thing. And it's not just food. I'm the same way with books. Photos of things? Fine. Illustrations of people? Fine. Photos of people? No.
I was going to say that I probably get this from my mother, as it seems like something she'd do, but last summer she bought me a copy of Atonement with photos of the actors from the movie on the cover. So, not from her. Also, I'm a weirdo for remembering that.
I'm not a total weirdo, though. I'll buy DVDs and magazines with photos on the cover without giving it a second thought. So far it's just food and books. And cosmetics. And picture frames.
I can't be the only one, can I?
If I weren't who's to say
15 years ago
6 comments:
Yes, I think you can.
So are author photos OK, or do they also put a book on the forbidden list? Your mother actually had to explain some of this to me ("What does she mean by drawings of people?" "Like Aunt Jemima." "Oh, OK. I think of her as a logo.")
Oddly enough, I've done the opposite: I've actually bought food (OK, just the occasional box of Wheaties) based on the person photographed.
I'm not familiar with Russian food packaging, so I don't know if this, oh, let's just call it an endearing little quirk, shall we? is really keeping you from stuff you would otherwise buy. Perhaps you should add photos.
If I actually had any of these food products in my house, I could add photos of them.
Author photos kind of annoy me, too, but that has more to do with not really wanting to know about the author's life beyond maybe when the book was written and where the writer is from. I was just discussing this with someone at work yesterday. He agreed with me.
I'll wait for Cameron to weigh in, as it also seems like something he would do. Actually, it seems more like something he would do than something I would do.
I did a check in the kitchen and there's not one single photo of people on any of my foods, so you're safe to visit.
You know what's funny? I'm not sure you can buy dog food or dog treats without a dog photo on it.
Good to hear that it's safe. I have girl scout cookies right now, but I guess they don't bother me as much because I didn't buy them?
This was also kind of funny:
Me: I got girl scout cookies!
Andrey: What are you talking about?
Me: [explanation of said institution] I was one for a few months when I was a kid!
Andrey: A few months?
Me: Yeah, it wasn't really for me.
Andrey: Why not?
Me: Well, for one thing, they made me sell cookies.
My first thought was: “Good thing they don’t print the missing children photos on milk cartons anymore.”
My second thought was: “she’s crazy!”
Third: “I wonder if I’m the same way.”
I honestly can’t think of any product I have ever purchased with someone’s photo on it. And when I go through my vacation photos and such, less than 1% have people in them. I don’t know if I would actively avoid buying a product with a picture on it, I’m not sure that this has ever come up. I only buy food for myself, so I may subconsciously avoid the pictures without realizing it. I think I need to go shopping with someone else to test this theory. Perhaps I should go shopping with Jenny, she only eats Kraft products and Kraft seems like the kind of company that would print photos on their labels.
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