First there was a box. It was big and unwieldy and each month caused
me to break fingernails as I struggled the thing off the shelf and into my
grocery cart. My immediate and usual
thought consisted of unkind words mentally thrown at whoever designed such a
large, heavy, and awkward carton for laundry detergent.
Imagine my delight when some months
later the detergent company, with loud fanfare unveiled their brand new
container…a box one third the size of the original. The ads promoting this little gem spouted on
about the ease of getting it off the shelf, the miniscule space it would take
up in the laundry room and the fact that shoppers no longer needed the strength
of ten men to carry this wonder to their cars.
I was a happy camper.
But, the manufacturers apparently not
simply satisfied with the new size of their product, felt moved to embellish
its contents as well. So, not too many
months later, the smaller box proclaimed: ‘Now with added Zingy Enzymes.’
It seems that thinking a cupful of plain
old soap powder would produce clean clothes from my washing machine was a
completely incorrect concept on my part.
Without me being aware, my clothes had been dingy for years. But, with the added zingy things working
their magic, the clothes would finally exit my machine whiter and brighter than
all the stars in the heavens. Well! I was certainly impressed.
On a later shopping expedition and
sporting my fabulously brighter, whiter, shorts and t-shirt, I noted the
manufacturers of my favorite detergent had not rested on their laurels. They’d been busily working to make my life
even happier. Their latest packaging
informed me that the box now contained twenty percent more zingy enzymes than
previously. Wow!
I noticed too, the price was creeping
up a few pennies with each new unveiling.
But still, to be able to dazzle all my friends and neighbors with my
sparkling-like-new clothes was certainly worth it, wasn’t it?
Not much later, the detergent bigwigs,
finally happy with the contents of their container, returned their attention to
the box itself. Obviously all those
terrific enzymes rattling around inside the box needed a little more
space. So out it came…the ‘New Improved
Box.’ It was a different color and
slightly larger than the previous model but with the ‘new improved’ words
emblazoned on its front and back, it was like a wondrous new entity.
Nearly two years to the day later, I
broke two fingernails and almost gave myself a hernia juggling a huge box of
laundry detergent off the grocery store shelf.
My favorite manufacturer had once again opted to produce a new version
of the box by increasing the size by at least two thirds. This new container was going to have me
dancing in the aisles and save me heaps of loot by lasting so much longer than
the smaller box. It was a wonderful
product for the budget conscious among us.
Well, what can you say to that?
‘Ummmm…it’s the same size it was a couple
of years ago?’
Nah.
That would surely prompt the marketing guys into a tizzy and they’d have
to start all over again with a brand new smaller box.