Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Only in America #34

I was wandering around Wal-Mart today...amazed by the sheer quantity and choice offered by each aisle, stunned by how different this American retail world compare to the simple stores I was shopping at for the past two years in China. Not only were there so many more choices, but I knew exactly what each item was for. I remember buying oil my first week in China, cooking with it and immediately after taking the first bite of chicken, having my entire mouth go numb. I freaked out, threw the oil away and stopped cooking for a while. It wasn't until I talked to my Chinese teacher and told her the story that she started laughing. Apparently in China they sell this cooking oil made from a plant that numbs the mouth...its very popular...yet I had no way of knowing what the product was because I couldn't and can't read Chinese.
So today, in Wal-Mart, I am enjoying my literacy, walking in a wide eyed daze around the aisles when all of a sudden I come across a product that literally made me stop, stare and do a half-laugh, half-choke sound.

Email Print

GE Wireless Decoy Security Camera

Model # 45238 Internet # 202040380

$19.77/EA-EachShips FREE with $249.00 Order

The best part about this product isn't that it doesn't work..but that they market the fact that it doesn't work! The box said something like, "Don't bother with expensive and time consuming security devices, use our decoy camera and rest assured your house is safe." What? What if the crooks are shopping at Wal-Mart...aren't they going to recognize this product? Maybe they carry one around with them, and when they get to a house with a security camera, hold it up and compare. "Alright, this one is fake. Let's clean out the house...."

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