This experience may be completely unique to me but I have to admit I find it curious. Why does every bag of groceries cost $25? It seems regardless of what I purchase the total is always around $25. Two packs of gum, a six-pack of drinks and a dozen doughnuts equals $25. By some mysterious coincidence, a package of ground beef, some barbecue sauce and a bottle of Windex amounts to the same $25.
How is this even possible? What makes this more curious is that it also works in multiples. For instance, if I buy two bags of groceries the bill is around $50. If I buy four bags of groceries, the tally is $100.
This strange phenomenon occurs whether I am doing self-checkout or having the store employee ring up my purchases. This marvel of modern merchandising has me stumped.
For me, a similar circumstance happens when I go to the doctor. No matter my illness or injury, if I visit my physician and return home I inevitably receive a bill for $100. Sprained ankle -- $100. Sinus infection -- $100. Sore throat -- $100. How could all of these illnesses require the exact same amount of time and effort from the medical team? Does the bandage wrapped around my sprained ankle cost the same as the swab they used on the back of my sore throat? Because other than that, my visits were exactly the same. Saw the front desk people for the same amount of time, saw the nurses for the same amount of time, and talked with the doctor for the same amount of time.
Another member of the coincidental cost club is my dentist. If I go to the dentist for anything outside of regular cleaning and maintenance the bill magically always totals around $1,000. The procedure could involve one tooth or multiple teeth but the bill is always right at the $1,000 mark. The course of action can require multiple X-rays or a special prosthesis but it is always there in that $1,000 neighborhood.
How do these incidences have such eerie similarities?
Do I exist inside a simulation or video game where some 6-year-old is controlling my actions and since he does not understand the difference each transaction is always the same?
Is there a chip implanted in my head scanned by the computers at each of these facilities that determines I fall into the aforementioned pricing categories?
Is consumer pricing driven by a global economy juxtaposed with the changing needs of a growing customer base consolidating prices?
Who knows? But it is strange. It is almost as if I had a set amount that I need to pay before my insurance kicks in and contributes. It is like they deduct the amount I pay from the bill and then pay their portion. It seems like we both copay the bills.
Even if that strange way of providing health insurance did exist, it would not explain the price of a bag of groceries. Was Mr. Whipple driven mad by all of the shoppers squeezing his bath tissue causing him to invent this diabolical scheme?
Did feeding all the Muppets on "Sesame Street" make Mr. Hooper strive to come up with a simpler pricing structure? It would make sense because if he did not do something having Oscar the Grouch stuck behind The Count as she spookily counted out his different amounts would be problematic.
If it helps Bird Bird, Grover and Kermit, I guess I can go along.