Parsley is a kind of lettuce

So I went shopping about a week ago, and it took way too long. One reason is that my shopping list had listed:

  • fresh basil
  • fresh oregano
  • fresh parsley

I was feeling ambitious, so I went to the organic chain down the road for the spices and veggies, as a separate trip from the one to the main supermarket. I went to the refrigerator with the flat packs of fresh herbs. I found the basil and oregano immediately, but couldn't find the parsley. They seemed to be out of it, like they were out of the fresh dill. I didn't actually see the tag for parsley, but I was tired enough at that point where that didn't click.

So I got mad, left with what I had, and went to a different organic store. They too were out of parsley, as I exclaimed to my good friend Monte, who happened to have called me on the cell. "Did you look in the lettuce section?" he asked. "The lettuce section? Why would they put it there?" But, sure enough, there it was.

How is parsley not a spice?

Here's another example of poor classification that occured at a "regular" supermarket recently. My wife requested that I purchase some new dishwashing sponges. So I headed to the non-food side of the store, and soon spied the dishwashing detergent. Sadly, they had only refills for some automated scrub brush contraption I wanted no part of, but no scrub brushes. I started wandering up and down the aisles and discovered a small dish sponge/scrub brush section hidden on the "Baby" aisle. We're talking pampers here people. There were other signs at the end of the aisle but none even hinted at dish sponges.

What? The only thing I can figure is that, if I were a completely sexist store layout designer, everything on that aisle could be thought of as "for women".

My wife, upon hearing my rant, admitted that she knows exactly where the parsley lives in the supermarket, but seemed to find the scrub brush location odd.

My overall point: I often find myself longing for a search box as I wander the aisles of the supermarket. The way my brain works and the way supermarkets categorize things often does not mesh.

Update: A more recent trip to the same grocery store chain that blew the scrub brush location showed they put the parsley under the herb packs, and the whole section directly next to the lettuce, so either way of thinking about it would get you there.

Posted by Chad Lundgren on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 (Link)

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