en.wikipedia.org
both via google images
Quite a few years back Chief and I were at Target running a quick errand when we saw Pepsi Zero on sale and he picked some up. The cashier asked us if we liked it and we told her we had never heard of it and knew nothing about it. After a pause (and a moment of knowing better) I said you’d think they (Pepsi) would learn a lesson from the New Coke debacle. Mind you, the cashier is all of 18 maybe 19—wasn’t even born when New Coke came out. She’s never heard of it. I continue trying to give her prompts or hints hoping maybe a light bulb will go off—drawing out the words with my pitch rising towards the end of the sentence (which seems to be teen/kid speak these days anyway—everything’s a question? when they speak). I say, you know, that’s where “Classic Coke” comes from? They reformulated it in the 80’s and called it “New Coke”? Made everyone angry??? Crickets and a very blank stare. Maybe her eyes were glazed over—at that point I didn’t really care to be honest.
I think that everyone should know quite a few things about the years that predate their birth—hello, does anyone take history anymore? What about pop culture references? They’re everywhere! How do you "get" things without knowing some stuff? Without a thought and much to Chief’s dismay (although he’s pretty used to it by now, we’ve been together for 20 years) I launched into the whole New Coke/Classic Coke debacle and decline in sales, etc., pretty much knowing this girl a) probably didn’t care and b) was too young to “remember.” Again, I reiterate the point about pop culture references and suggest the wealth of useful as well as useless information on the internet…deep breath. I was hoping that something would ring a bell for her. I think "ding dong" was all she was hearing. We walked away from the counter and I told Chief that I was sorry but I just couldn’t help myself. Sometimes, I can kind of be like dogs who like to chase squirrels: can’t—let—it—go! At least we had a good laugh about it. Then, I suddenly felt a little bit older.
http://www.retroist.com/ via google images
For the record, I was being nice about it--I didn't get mad--I was trying to edify :) I pretty much knew that would fall on deaf ears!
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