With higher prices for oil and raw materials, paper products companies are downsizing their products, again. Here are two more examples:
*MOUSE PRINT:
Going from 216 to 200 tissues per box is a reduction of almost seven and half percent. The clever folks at P&G don’t put the count anywhere but on the perforated strip that you remove when opening the box, so you have no way of double-checking from purchase to purchase how many tissues were in your last box. (Thanks to Rodney G. for the tip about Puffs.)
*MOUSE PRINT:
While it is true that no one is likely to miss that extra 1/8th of an inch, the maker of Dixie plates must have thought the savings were significant enough to invest money in the retooling and repackaging. One-eight of an inch times millions of plates adds up.
It is curious, however, that while the plates’ diameter in inches has shrunk, the diameter in centimeters appears to have increased from 21-cm to 21.5-cm. Whoever said the metric system made more sense?
Few people are likely to have caught these changes because they were done so inconspicuously.
So how does Dixie explain 8 5/8 being more than 8 1/2 while the same isn’t true of the cm measurement? 8 5/8″ is ~21.9cm. Did they just decide to add the decimal?
8 5/8 inches is 21.9 cm. However, the “old†Dixie Plate package listed the metric value as 21 cm. Using two significant figures, this should have been 22 cm.
8 ½ inches is 21.6 cm, using three significant figures. It is not 21.5 cm.
If they used two significant figures for the metric units on both packages, they’d both read 22 cm. This is because the loss of 1/8 inch is not a significant reduction in the value… within the two significant figure precision.
If they used three significant figures for the metric units, there would be a change from 21.9 cm to 21.6 cm. This would be considered meaningful because of the greater precision that is implied by using three significant figures.
The determinant as to whether two or three significant figures should be used is the level of precision of the physical measurement of the plate diameter. The English 8 5/8 inches or 8 ½ inches gives no clue as to the level of precision of the physical measurement. 8 5/8 is 8.62500000000000000000000000000000000000… as a decimal value. 8 ½ is 8.500000000000000000000… There’s no way of knowing where to cut these numbers off when stated as fractions.
In contrast, the metric units provide solid information about the level of precision used in the measurement.
The comment, “Whoever said the metric system made more sense?â€, tells me that the author understands neither the metric system nor the proper use of significant figures.
Paper products aren’t the only thing being downsized. I recently bought two “gallons” of paint at the 40% off Sherwin Williams Sale. Their “Classic 99” (low priced, basic paint) is 3 27/32 quarts (123 oz); a 1/3 cup short of a gallon. Their “Duration” paint (high end, the kind you have to buy if you want a highly tinted color, like our red wall) is only 3 11/16 quarts (118 oz); a full cup and 1/4 short of a gallon. Yet the price sticker on the shelf is priced “per gallon”, and the sales man gives you no indication that the paint is really in a container short of a gallon.
I bought trim paint at Benjamin Moore and it was a “full” gallon.
Edgar replies: We covered this issue a few years ago. The explanation is this: for cans of paint meant as base colors that will be tinted to a color of the customer’s choosing, the net contents statement is some amount less than one gallon to allow space for the addition of the colorant.
Maybe they’re not allowed to round up, so that’s why they started with 21cm? But then showing 21.5cm after the decrease in size works to their favor. I’d be interested to know whether there’s a rounding rule with regard to product sizes.
Sooner or later toilet paper and paper towels will be down to one sheet. Now I’m waiting for ice cream to have its next downsize from 48 Oz.
First, c’mon Al Powers… it was a joke about the metric system. Lighten up.
Second, the last time we purchased our regular brand of TP (Scott), we happened to notice that the width of the roll has shrunk considerably, by at least 1/2 inch.
I, too, have noticed the significant difference in the size of the Scott bath tissue. I have a decorative tube that stores toilet paper in my bathroom. It used to hold four rolls. Now it holds five.
I wonder if the size of the plates has actually changed at all, or if it’s just a labeling change. They may feel that 1/2 inch is easier for people to read and understand than 5/8 inch, and the 21.5 cm is more accurate than the 21 cm. It would be an interesting exercise to open both packs of plates and make 3 stacks, one with 6 plates from pack A, one with 6 plates from stack B, and one with 3 of each (alternated) in the stack. Then ask someone else to look at all 3 stacks and see if they can find any difference in the plates. If there’s an actual tooling difference of 1/8 inch, the stack with the alternating sizes should be obviously “different” from the other 2 stacks.
Edgar replies: The new package is lighter in weight, suggesting that paper was in fact removed.
And dont forget the “Now STRONGER!” bubble at the exact opposite corner of the packaging, cleverly pulling your attention away from any possibility of noticing the number change. Wouldn’t you rather have the stronger plate?
I love how the new plates say “Now stronger!” to probably distract you from fact that they are smaller..
And how exactly are they stronger at all, especially since they weigh less..
This is blatant lie I think, and wish companies could get in trouble for all the stupid lies and crap they put on stuff, like for detergent, like ALL of them say “Now you only have to use half as much because it is now twice as powerful!”.. bullcrap..
Only way these plates would be any stronger is if they are talking about it being ever-so-slightly less flimsy because they are smaller now..
Edgar replies: What you can’t see in the picture is that there is an asterisk after the word “stronger” which goes to a disclaimer that says “Dry Strength”. I think most people would want a plate on which you serve food to have improved wet strength instead.
The Puffs tissues themselves are also about 1″ in length shorter in width than the box they are in. If you feel along the inside on the right of the box, sliding the tissues to the left, you can feel a pretty big space. The box itself looks about the same size? But I don’t have an old box to campare it to! The tissues aren’t as soft anymore either. Shoulda stocked up in the ’90s on the good stuff!
Funny thing is, these new plates seem A LOT more flimsy. I used to just use one for food but now I have to use 2 or 3 plates. Something else was done to them.
Not only are they shorting the box, about every 5th or 6th tissue is less wide! Where they normally fold over on both edges, only one edge is folded because the tissue is not wide enough. I thought it was an issue with the folder equipment, but it has been going on for 6 months worth of boxes now and looks like it was on purpose.