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Comment by doodpants | Hacker News Reader

> Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup.

Vanilla is the most popular flavor? That makes me skeptical of the whole story. ;-)

Vanilla consistently ranks as the most favorite ice cream flavor. A search for "most popular ice cream in the world" has as the top result: "According to statistics, vanilla ice cream is the most popular ice cream in the world. From the USA across to China, its appeal is universal."

An example of the top 21 flavors (in America): https://www.krqe.com/news-resources/ranking/the-21-most-popu...

Given that it's become a synonym for 'conventional', I'm not sure why you'd be sceptical. It's the least common denominator flavour.

Same reason grayscale cars are very common: even if a family likes bright colors, they may not like the same bright colors, and may not trust they’ll be able to sell it to someone else later.

Vanilla accounts for about a quarter of all ice cream sales in the US. Chocolate is a close second but I think vanilla wins as it is also the most common to serve with other desserts. Apple pie a la mode is always with vanilla ice cream for example...

Have you ever given ice cream to young children?

I was a picky eater as a kid, yet I still can't fathom why so many kids prefer vanilla over other flavors.

It's reasonably complex while not typically being overwhelming in my experience

It's the most popular flavor in the same way the Settlers of Catan is the most popular Euro board-game. It's rarely anybody's favorite, but very few people hate it.

It is, certainly would have been at the time anyone would be driving a Pontiac. But it is dubious that the store would have a separate case for it. And making a trip for it every night after you've had dinner? And an engineer spent days working on the problem in person? THe story is weird.

Also, vanilla is good.

> And an engineer spent days working on the problem in person?

This is the only slightly credible bit IMO; companies sometimes do this! If you have a really weird problem in something you've sold a few million units of, you really, really want to know what that problem is, before more people start complaining.

The supermarket layout is clearly contrived to make the story work, though, and doesn't otherwise make any sense.

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