Looks like Britian's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, wants to help its customers keep to their weight loss goals - even as they roll down the bakery and frozen food aisles. According to a story in today's Wall Street Journal:
Tesco...is testing a new 10-speed shopping cart designed to help shoppers burn extra calories as they round the aisles. The "Trim Trolley" has a large rear wheel that provides adjustable resistance and a handle-bar monitor that lets shoppers watch their heart rates rise and count calories burned.
A typical 40-minute trip around the supermarket burns about 160 calories. Pushing the Trim Trolley, with the resistance level set at seven out of a possible 10, the average person would burn up about 280 calories in that time, says the cart's designer and marketing consultant Wayne Asher.
What's next? Weighted whisks? Stairmaster-powered blenders?
What's next? Sigh. Supermarkets are already filled with meandering shoppers who have no idea anyone else is in the market. The sheer thought of them pumping themselves up while shopping makes me ill. Someone will get really hurt during a collision, someone will pull a lower back muscle and sue the chain. Plus, these people will be sweating profusely, do you believe they will 'wipe down' the push bar on the cart? No, no they won't. The next poor sob that waltzes in to get their pop tarts will get a smelly, slimy cart that most likely will cause them to retch.
Personally I've lived through a handful of shopping cart 'innovations' and I'll tell you what. I'll bet you these fancy carts will end up in isles, abandoned. Why? Because that fancy schmancy mechanism will wind up broken and rendering the cart unmovable. Not to mention some poor little ol' lady or man will have to call the manager to adjust the resistance enough so they can MOVE the damned thing.
What's next you ask? Law suits, disease & pain.
Sez me.
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | May 07, 2004 at 05:20 PM