"Pre-Order Your Copy Now" - March 11, 2021

[Bob cruise director]

Is this why we have 500 choices on the toothpaste aisle?

Yes.

Crest.com

"CREST" TOOTHPASTE - well over 100 offerings under the name of Crest:

• GUM HEALTH - 14 distinct offerings

• WHITENING - 35 distinct offerings

• KIDS - 17 distinct offerings

• ALL AROUND PROTECTION - 17 distinct offerings

• SENSITIVITY - 9 distinct offerings

• ENAMEL - 4 distinct offerings

• CLEAN + FRESHEN - 11 distinct offerings

And if you look at the label of the different offerings from the same brand, most of them have the exact same ingredients. I guess some of the specialty ones are slightly different, but most are the same.

Same thing with mouthwash

[ImOnToo]

On shore and kicking myself!
I was stuck on the correct answer, but just could not make it come to light.

So, not submitting. But, thanking Wendy for freeing up the rest of my evening!

[Big Mac]

On shore and submitted! Busy weekend but fairly quick journey to dry land!

[C=64]

Mint Kit Kats have been my 2020-21 hoarding item. They are really good and not widely available, so I'll buy 8 packages at a time and have Mrs. C=64 hide them from me.

[Lyman]

Spent the weekend helping with a child's school project, and am now chasing rabbits. Hoping for a helpful nudge.

[Deb F]

Nope. Never connected with this one. My rabbit holes have rabbit holes. So, I give. Good luck, all. Isaac, a sedative if you please.

[Bob cruise director]

Our final report has 10 on the ship and 193 on the shore.

New to the ship's bar are
agatha
KFB


While making their way to the shore are

ajk
KRM
jhseeman
WSJosh
Fred
Powers2020
TheCatt
Fishoutowater
Nlobb
xwordcoco
SewYoung
Scott M
hunkra
eagle1279
jb321123
BreeZynCO
ImOnToo
Big Mac
scraps

Good luck to all winning the mug and have a safe week

[HunterX]

Here is the thing I’ve never gotten about things like multiple flavor Mountain Dew or Oreos or Kit Kats...Why? I don’t understand and never have and I would need to see empirical data to believe that it makes business sense. There might be a small amount of new market share captured but mostly I feel like it simply cannibalizes the brand. I don’t feel like there are many people out there who were like I’m NEVER drinking Mountain Dew but I’ll sure as heck try a Mountain Dew Code Red.

I understand that studies have shown that people eat/drink more when there is variety. It's why M&M's have so many colors. (Though I get how that particular situation is a little different.) If you like, say, Mt. Dew and get tired of it at some point, or just want to have/try something different, you'd be more likely to try a different version of it if there was one, rather than switch to a competing product. And if there wasn't another version, you'd be likely to try a competing product and possibly stick with it. The variety keeps customers that way.

But all the evidence you really need is the mere fact that so many companies do it with so many products. If it only cannibalized their own product and added nothing to the bottom line (while increasing production line costs), they wouldn't do it! But they do. And they keep doing it. That shows they have found it works.

Is this why we have 500 choices on the toothpaste aisle?

Could be.... That one might be more of getting you to thinking, "Did I get 'cool mint' or 'fresh mint' last time? With baking soda or without...? Gel or paste....? Tartar protection or Tartar sauce...?" instead of "Crest or Colgate?"

[moodie]

would love a nudge!

[HunterX]

Mint Kit Kats have been my 2020-21 hoarding item. They are really good and not widely available, so I'll buy 8 packages at a time and have Mrs. C=64 hide them from me.

Oooo.... Never heard of MINT Kit Kats! It's like the Thin Mints of chocolate-covered wafer bars! Mmmmm....

[Kas]

On shore, just under the wire!!
And I didn’t see it, and didn’t see it, and didn’t see it...then I saw it. Very pleasant palm-slap-to-forehead moment.

[escapeartist]

I just don't see it. Been staring at it at different times all weekend.

I've been down so many rabbit holes Bugs Bunny would be jealous.

I'm sure I'll slap my forehead when the solution drops in a bit here, but I am officially giving up.

[LaurenB]

It was nice hanging out with y’all on shore for the last few weeks but I think the slight uptick in difficulty has stumped me again. LOL

[Kas]

I'm new and I am frustrated. I have the grid done but now can't sleep because I am thinking of these odd combinations of words and trying to make a meal out of random scraps. I don't drink coffee so I don't really care about a mug, but I would like to be able to sleep again. Any nudges will be happily and unapologetically accepted. I, too, would like to declare the puzzle "elegant" and say that things "clicked" but I fear I will be treading water for a while and my legs are getting tired. Kudos to those on shore.

Hi, Carter! That whole hair-pulling/teeth-gnashing part is just...part of the deal. Two points: First, IMHO, the “Kas Scale” describes all Metas:

1. The Metas that yield the A-Ha Moment too early...and I'm irritable about it, because I'm a dork;

2. The Metas that I torture myself over, then the a-ha moment is basically a head-slapping "Oh DUH!! You Eeeediott!!" Those make me laugh, self-deprecation is no problem;

3. The Metas I gut through, *eventually* figure out...and then walk around the rest of the weekend like I just solved The Middle East or learned Sanskrit;

4. The Metas I DON'T get...but *should* have. (It happens. I don't want to talk about it.)

5. The Metas I don't get, and after the answer is revealed I think, "Yeah...that wasn't going to happen." (Those mostly make me want to put out a Mob hit on certain genius MUGgles here...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Lol!)

Point Two: One person’s Kas 1 is another’s Kas 4 or 5...and they’ll swap places the next week. I love being stumped *almost* as much as I love the A-Ha!! moment.

[hcbirker]

Is this why we have 500 choices on the toothpaste aisle?

Yes.

Crest.com

"CREST" TOOTHPASTE - well over 100 offerings under the name of Crest:

• GUM HEALTH - 14 distinct offerings

• WHITENING - 35 distinct offerings

• KIDS - 17 distinct offerings

• ALL AROUND PROTECTION - 17 distinct offerings

• SENSITIVITY - 9 distinct offerings

• ENAMEL - 4 distinct offerings

• CLEAN + FRESHEN - 11 distinct offerings

Then there was a time last year when I grabbed my Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. Took it home, and when I used it and started brushing I went “wtf”? It was cinnamon flavored!

[jmorgie7]

the name of the Grocery Game is shelf space: the more shelf space you have the less available to your competition. the way to grab shelf space is to have multiple versions of your product, hence the need for many flavours and variations

[Tripod]

Looking like a LAS week. Not enough time to really focus, and feeling a recent overconfidence fading...goodbye streak!

[Joe Ross]

[Joe Ross]

[zacmoretz]

Dang it. Good one Matt!