Hacker News Reader

Comment by frankus | Hacker News Reader

As a regular customer of the onboard dining on BC Ferries, I was always a bit mystified about how the cashier (maybe 20 m from the counter where you order) seemed to have some kind of clairvoyance regarding which type burger(s) to charge for, as they all use the same kind of wrapper.

It turns out the wrapper (that's printed with patches of stripes and crosshatches in different colo(u)rs), can be wrapped in a way that exposes a particular pattern on the outside of the finished package that indicates what's inside.

I'm sure this sort of system is used elsewhere but I've never noticed it anywhere else.

View on HN

Lots of fast food places use wrappers like this. Here's a picture of a Taco Bell wrapper that can be a regular taco, taco supreme, double decker taco, or "special" depending on the fold: https://www.flickr.com/photos/target_man_2000/16329290081

I first saw this at McDonald's. Drink lids (everywhere) have those little bubbles that can be pressed to indicate what type of drink as well. Diet, Sprite, etc.

Sure but aren't those all the same price?

Yeah but if you order a diet coke and your friend orders a regular coke you want to make sure you get the right drink out of the carrier.

Especially since I'll probably spew as soon as I taste the Aspartame!

They're used rarely these days, but in some places they're busy enough that they will make have someone making the drinks and marking them.

Which is why they don't have to indicate "sprite" or "orange" because you can see the color through the lids.

Where drinks are self-serve they're not needed, but usually still exist.

>They're used rarely these days

If you don't order different drinks, sure.

>Which is why they don't have to indicate "sprite" or "orange" because you can see the color through the lids.

The paper (cardboard?) lids aren't translucent.

Those are used to tell the difference between drinks within the same order: diet coke vs regular coke for example.

Not in the UK (passthrough sugar tax)

As someone who tries to minimise my sugar intake, one of my nightmares is getting served a non-diet drink by accident, because one of the lids gets pressed wrongly along the way.

I wonder if there's technology out there for cheap sugar testing sticks… huh, it looks like a company finally launched like that in 2021.

Got a link for em strips?

The brand I found is called DietDetector:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/breakthrough-soft-d...

Wouldn't you just be able to taste the difference, and then not drink it?

I've long wondered about this sort of thing. I have friends who drink no-sugar drinks, but I can't stand them. Even the ones everyone says are fantastic taste bad to me.

I wonder if there's not some sort of genetic connection influencing how some non-sugar sweeteners taste, much like the genetic link with cilantro tasting terrible for some.

Might the commenter really not be able to taste the difference? To me, it would be stark and unmistakable, but perhaps that's not true for everyone.

It might also have something to do with acquired taste - maybe people who can tolerate artificial sweeteners have simply gotten used to the weird flavors they add and don't taste them anymore?

I don't eat fast food or drink normal/diet soda enough to taste the difference, and the difference got even smaller when McDonald's in my country moved away from Coke Light/Diet Coke, and only sold Coke Zero as the no-sugar alternative.

Values of electrical resistors are often indicated via a pattern of coloured rings around the body.

That's how you can identify a 24-ohm snake https://xkcd.com/1604/

I haven't had a breakfast on BC Ferry for a while since they redid the interior/livery on all of the boats. Pretty sure I used to eat the jam packets on the tables.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com