Wish I had thought of this a number of weeks ago at the supermarket

[O'Dell]

    And how rude is it to comment on someone else's cart contents?

Very rude. You can think what you want, you can assume what you want, but you can not say it.

[Iris]

Oh and if you *really* want to get some strange looks--go to the store and buy just one item--a can of whipped cream.  I once forgot frosting for a dessert I was making and took a quick trip to the grocery to get some whipped cream instead...

I noticed the clerk's extremely frosty demeanor, but I didn't put two and two together till we were walking into the house with the groceries, and Fred said, "I don't know what was wrong with Betty -- she's usually so friendly when she waits on Wilma and I!"     The penny dropped, and I had to explain to Fred just what had probably been on Betty's mind when she saw the two of us laughing and joking and hugging, while shopping for whipped cream and chocolate sauce. . .   

Thank goodness Fred and Wilma have a great sense of humor -- it was a long-standing joke between the four of us, and Wilma immediately labeled me "Fred's other girlfriend!"   

On xkcd a while ago one of the comics involved a game - the challenge was to find the two items that would cause the most reaction in a cashier when bought together. It sounds like you two could be contenders in the championships, although technically I guess starsaphire would have to enter the couple's section 

[SeaSprite]

mharbourgirl and starsapphire I am so glad I had put the tea down. Takes a bit to clean it off this ancient monitor.
Iris I do believe  Evil SeaSprite would approve in a different time and place of  Evil Iris.... (I am trying really hard to keep her in her cage these days)

I love the dog collar bit. It makes me want to be non etiquette approved and walk through the store with a choke chain collar and cans of whipped cream and cherry jars

[Ms_Cellany]

On a camping trip with my sister (HungryHungryKitties) and her family, we stopped at a grocery store in the Middle of Nowhere for some last-minute supplies.

I stepped out from the store and yelled "I got the whipped cream and bungee cords!"

(for grilled bananas and a loosened tarp, respecitively).

[ArizonaGirl77]

True story:

When I was pg with Z (my oldest son) I had run into the market to pick up some items for a BBQ we were holding that night. After picking up a couple of bags of chips and hot dogs I also grabbed some milk. So I head to the cash register and there is a woman ahead of me in line who keeps staring at me, my belly, and my items as she is filling out her check.

RIGHT before she leaves she turns to me and says "Maybe if you young high school girls would stop getting yourselves knocked up you wouldn't have to live on welfare and eat such a poor diet!" Then she storms out! CUE ME - 

First off - I was married, and 22 and wasn't ON welfare. I actually owned my own business. AND what does being on welfare have to do with a poor diet? AND I had milk!!!

That story sticks with me to this day!

[wyozozo]

I must admit I had to wonder about the purchase a 20 something, buff man was making at Walgreens the other day.

2 giant bottles of baby oil and a People magazine.


Just saying.

[padua]

i admit to being somewhat self-conscious about what i put on the the conveyor belt. especially when i was trying to be a little more health-aware just before my wedding (and needed to drop a dress size). i couldn't help but think i was being judged on cheating just a little bit (does ice cream count as cheating? after all, dairy is a food group). for me, though, i use it to try to be a bit more balanced in what things i put in my grocery cart- i let everyone in line behind me be my conscience.

...

not that it works. i still can't pass up the ice cream aisle.

[SeaSprite]

This will be a bit long

ArizonaGirl the welfare=poor diet is a natural assumption in US society. Not without some merit as there are those who do indeed buy a lot of junk food with them, there are also just as many if not more that do not.
I have threee food stamps stories of which I shall share two here. I had an experience a bit similar. BG-My first dh left while I was pg (and it took several years to get divorced. Big mess) I was going to school on a "displaced homemaker" Pell Grant. Well a chunk of that went to childcare (this was a long time ago, no cc help available and stamps were still paper coupons) so in addition to be a work-study, I tutored privately, sold or traded ds' clothes with a consignment shop. That helped-you could either sell to them or get clothes in the size you need in the amount she would have paid you. I also collected cans. One night after a late lab I went to the grocery store. I purchased a lot of raw and fresh foods. A very elderly lady behind me said "Gee I wish I could afford to buy fresh strawberries. It must be nice." Now this lady had a ring on all 8 fingers with varying degrees/amounts of white stone and walked to a brand new Cadillac. I could have made quite a few assumptions-but those *diamonds* could have been glass or paste. The car could have been a gift or sweepstakes prize for all I knew. But it really didn't sit right with me because back then it was truly assumed people on food stamps bought chips and soda and used change for cigarettes and alcohol (neither of which i used nor did) You couldn't win. I had the thoughts that weren't very ehellion approved. But that was 25+ years ago. I thought "what I should put fresh fruit for my toddler back and buy chips instead? Not happening..."  and of course "Well then sell some of that jewelry and buy some" I however said neither. I also had the thoughts about the stones could be glass etc so it wasn't my place to assume she was well off.


The second one is also similar to yours. We live in town X and frequently travel to town Y. For many events. This day it was a park day with our homeschool group. Afterwards we planned to go a certain food market known for its naturals and organics. Something we don't have much of here. And though we go to Y a lot it isn't every day. Me and the kids are dressed for playing in the park. T shirt and jeans and shorts. Now we weren't covered in dirt or anything (I would have skipped the store) we are however a bit windblown and a tad sunburned. I had a cart and a half of groceries. Oh and in this story I didn't keep my shut but that too was long before E-hell. So he is paying for his purchase, looks at my carts and me and the kids. And ....opens his mouth...."You have no business using food stamps at *this* particular grocery store. You need to go to Kroger. I don't appreciate my taxes being spent so your family can have organic food!!"
I popped off at the mouth on that one and the clerk also recognized me and asked "will you be using your platinum card today?" That coupled with my statement made his eyes as big as saucers. I half expected him to have accused me of stealing my cc.

[General Jinjur]

Oh and if you *really* want to get some strange looks--go to the store and buy just one item--a can of whipped cream.  I once forgot frosting for a dessert I was making and took a quick trip to the grocery to get some whipped cream instead...

Some years ago (before we knew one another) DH found himself running to the store for a couple of things he needed for an ice cream party for his nephews, then a date with his girlfriend later on. So he finds himself in line with two things on the conveyor belt: two cans of whipped cream and a box of jimmy hats. And who should be behind him but several of his students...of course.

Luckily he teaches college, and they thought it was really funny (at the time he was living in a very conservative area).

[Sterling]

Because we all know that diet is the cause of all health problems 

Can you imagine riding a cart in the store because you broke both ankles like one of my students.  She broke the bones while playing for the college soccar team. 

[MrsJWine]

Ridiculous.

We do all of our produce shopping at one store, all of our dry goods shopping at another (and most of our dry goods we get in huge quantities from the bulk foods section, which means most of our dry goods trips are for less healthy things).  At least 90% of our diet is vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, with a small amount of meat.  The things that person must think of us if she saw us in WinCo.  With two small, impressionable children, no less!  Scandal!

Seriously, though, IF I notice what's in other people's baskets, I don't generally draw any conclusions from it, except to amuse myself, as previous posters have pointed out.  I know I've brought some really hilarious combinations up to the register before.  It's not even that the assumption is the most likely explanation, though that still wouldn't make it less rude to say out loud.  If I were to try to draw a conclusion about other people's junk food quantities in their carts, there are too many possible explanations to really get anywhere (this is their monthly snack food stock-up, this is their dry goods store, they're having a party, and more).

[Stormtreader]

I once got home to discover I had accidentally bought the most hippie basket of stuff imaginable - recycled toilet paper, faretrade chocolate, soya pudding, fruit/vegetables, the works.

The thing is, im the most junk/processed/snack food person imaginable - i just happened to fancy this stuff or it was on sale. If anyone was looking in my basket that day, theyd be shocked to see what I normally buy! I had to take a photo, sadly now lost through phone death, just because it really looked like id accidentally brought some elses shopping home!

[BeagleMommy]

I had a woman lay into me because I had a box of artificial sweetener, a tube of glucose tablets and several bags of miniature candy bars.  It was Halloween and I was putting together goody bags for the 150 or so trick or treaters I get every year.  Just because I'm diabetic doesn't mean I become the lady who gives toothbrushes on Halloween.

[Twik]

You know, if I were very ill with a terminal disease - I'd think that *then* would be the BEST time to splurge on junk food.

[Piratelvr1121]

Two college girls I knew who were roommates when I first met them went to the local SuperFresh together to get a couple things, and I can't remember the reason they were getting the turkey baster, but according to the one girl, they got a raised eyebrow from the cashier.