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Came across an article today about the “generation wars” between the shopping cart. Here in Pittsburgh, we tend to call them ‘buggies’ but that’s a geographic distinction. It seems the smaller, lightweight carts are being labeled ‘Millenial Shopping Carts’ as opposed to the tradition deep basketed carts we are most familiar with.
And that makes me think … is there a Gen X shopping cart? If so, would it be the one I most remember from my own 70s/80s childhood shopping adventures? Neither of the above; I’m talking about the big bulky rectangular carts with the fold down end panel and a huge amount of space on the bottom for kids to ride, er to put the bulky stuff.
As a Gen Xer myself (born 1970), I spent countless hours taking ‘my turn’ underneath the mammoth overhang of the cart OR clutching the side waiting for my turn while my mum admonished me not to tip it. Or unlatch the end panel. And no trip to the store was complete without being ejected toward the end for the super size pack of paper towels, large box of laundry detergent powder, and a bag of dog food.
Yes, most of us bought grocery store dog food in the 80's.
More importantly, many of us spent hours of our time engaged in these rituals when we were young enough to be dragged to the store by our parents, that sweet phase between…
