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Planned Obsolescence is defined as the policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.

Put simply, designers of everything we buy spend a lot of money making sure that our products do not last very long.

I live on family farm and a lot of the stuff my parents and grandparents had is still here. My mother’s Electrolux vacuum cleaners from the 60s (model 1205) have outlived every vacuum I’ve ever purchased. So I use hers. The hoses that my grandparents had on the farm are still going strong as I throw away kinked hose after kinked hose because the are leaking. Even the oscillating sprinkers I bought have been trashed because they fell apart within a year, but the ones my grandparents used are still going strong. I use the copper bottom pots and pans my grandparents got as a wedding gift (thank you, whoever you were). All of the yard tools that have been here for 75 years are outliving every shovel, spade and hoe that I purchase.

Am I the only one that is infuriated with this?

I make it a point to write reviews for every product I buy, whether it be good or bad. If it’s bad, I complain to the company, return the item and stop purchasing anything from that company. If you call and complain, 95% of the time the company will send you a new product. If that one also breaks, I will call and complain again. I’m tired of paying for shit that falls apart a week after it was purchased.

I think a lot of poeple have become complacent about this type of thing and have come to expect that the crap that they buy will fall apart. I wish that more people would complain. The only way this will change is if we don’t accept it the way that it is.

I also write to the Better Business Bureau and complain when companies don’t stand behind their product. I have gotten resolution to my liking 100% of the time.

I don’t think planned obsolescence will ever fully go away. But there are some things you can do to send the message to companies that you are not willing to accept it. And we shouldn’t accept it – it’s contributing to global warming, excessive dumping and growing landfills, labor inequality and resource depletion. Here are some things you can do to fight back.

1. Return things that break too quickly. Know the warranty and return the item to the store where you bought it. If they won’t take it back, contact the company for a return or an exchange.
2. Write product reviews on consumer websites and the website of the stores where you bought the product.
3. Make a commitment to repair when possible.
4. Tell your friends about brands that fall apart and ones that stand the test of time. Word of mouth referrals go a long way.
5. Complain to the Better Business Bureau.
6. Don’t unnecessarily upgrade products that still have a useful life.
7. Shop at second hand stores.
8. Pass along items for which you have no more use for to others who do have a use for them.

Maybe a pipe-dream but I’d like to save a little money rather than having to replace all of my stuff all of the time.

If you know me, you probably have an idea about what this article is about. Well, I’m here to tell you that…..

This article is actually about Dairy Queen. You know the place. I go there a lot. I was there the other day and got a blizzard. They are probably my favorites because they can actually satisfy my need. The sundaes just don’t do it for me.

You’ve probably noticed that they do a funny thing before they hand your blizzard to you. They turn it upside down and look at you like “See?!?” What I don’t really get is what point they are trying to prove. See what? That your frozen treat defies gravity? That the desert Im about to put in my mouth is made of super-glue?

I’ve thought extensively about it and come to the conclusion that it probably is their way of letting you know that they just made it, it hasn’t melted cause if it had been sitting around it would be liquid by now and would fall to the pavement.

So I was at Dairy Queen getting a blizzard. The girl flips open the window, turns the blizzard upside down and it all falls out down onto the pavement. Like a sloppy bowel movement. She looks at me in horror and I’m already pissing myself I’m laughing so hard. She runs off to make another one and this time delivers it without attempting to turn it upside down. She just hands it over and shuts the window.

So whatever it is that they serve they want you to see that it behaves like ice cream. But you should know that no where on any menu, sign, document or drive through window will you find ice cream on the menu at Dairy Queen. They don’t serve ice cream, you see. It’s an ice cream-like substance but it’s not ice cream or you can bet that it would be on their menu. Look next time. It’s a Buster Bar Parfait, a blizzard, a dip cone, a cup, but it doesn’t say ice cream. Cause it’s not.

Do you feel a little deceived? Yeah, me too. Here are some other things that aren’t what you think they are:

• Truffle Oil
• Olive Oil
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Anything with vanilla
• Wasabi
• parmesan cheese
• instant coffee
• crab meat

It’s called food fraud and it’s rampant. We are not eating what we think we are eating and what we are told is healthy is making us fat, lazy but much less likely to start a rebellion or over throw the government.

Did you know we are the ONLY species to drink the milk of another species? Most people are actually lactose intolerant, so the fact is that we take pills so that we are able to drink thed milk of another animal which is unnatural in the first place! Amazing what marketing can do.