SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) What is a "dirty little (or big) secret" about an industry that you have worked in, that people outside the industry really ought to know? http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1kfoy5/what_is_a_dirty_little_or_big_secret_abo%E2%80%8But_an/?sort=confidence Workers from all different jobs and all walks of life sharing secrets and scams about just about anything Edited August 17, 2013 by SonOfTheGods 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 allosaur 804 points 1 dayago * Large chain bookstores: so so so many perfectly good books get thrown out... Mass market paperbacks are cheap to manufacture and get shipped out in huge volumes. For some publishers (particularly ones that put out new mysteries or romances quarterly) when the bookstore wants it off the shelf to make room for something new, it's just not worth the cost of taking them back and finding someone else to sell it. But they don't want anyone getting them for free. So as a bookstore employee I spent hours ripping the front and back covers off of books, then tearing the book at least in half so that no one could read it later. The covers get sent back to the publishers, and the books that could have been donated to a library or school get put in a locked recycling container out back. A manager had to come back and check my work to make sure the books were not left intact. I almost cried the first time I had to rip up a load of kid's books (in a city with high child poverty rates and underfunded schools). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 slowshot 1013 points 1 dayago * During the Arab Oil Embargo of 1974 gasoline deliveries to stations were limited to what they were 1 year earlier, and stations sales were limited to what they sold in the previous year. I was working overnights at a 24 hour station in Duluth, Mn. At least once a week the refinery would call and ask if we had room where they could dump a tanker of gas, because they ran out of storage space. So much for the shortage. edit--Thanks for all the interest. I was specifically thinking about the implementation of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act. If I remember correctly It went into effect on 1/1/74. Existing gasoline outlets were to be allocated only the amount of gasoline which they sold in the same time period the previous year. New gas outlets were allocated an average of the surrounding stations. Early in the summer of 1973, our source refinery (on the East end of Superior, Wisconsin) completed an efficiency upgrade. To keep it running in the most efficient mode possible resulted in more product than they were able to sell openly. My boss was to afraid of getting caught breaking the rules. What other stations did I do not know, but the shutting down and restarting of the refinery contributed to higher wholesale prices compared to what the price could have been if the refinery had run continuously, so the owners tried every avenue to try keep it running 24/7. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 wonderwatson 171 points 1 day ago Former paramedic here. I've never once checked, judged, or cared whether you had on clean underwear. Your parents lied. haha! classic! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 [–]Turdtastic 9 points 16 hours agoI used to work for a large information service. Basically they warehouse large amounts of data, everything from public records to case law and news. Services such as this are used by collection companies. One of the things that surprised me was where so much of their "private" data came from. Unpublished phone numbers and address information they get from pizza chains. The next time you're ordering your pizza and they ask for your number, know that it's likely being sold so someone can track you down. [–]FranklinAbernathy 9 points 1 day ago*I worked for the Nations largest cell phone provider, everything, and I do mean everything you do is stored. I was involved in 3 cases where they pulled location data from as far back as 3 years ago. I saw text messages, phone calls, speed limit, location, time stamped data in all cases. Everything you read about data dumps is bullshit, they have everything you do. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 Last one I will post: I knew a man who was a 4th generation veal guy. One of the last people to be in NYs meatpacking industry he explained to me why I should never eat veal (and I dont)The "european way" of veal was to cage baby calfs with a chain around their neck so they dont move even an inch. Now the American way which was legally implemented is to have about 12 baby cows in a pen 10x10. This way they have a little movement and its considered more "humane"Well NY restaurants consider white veal to be the industry standard. Meaning the whiter the meat the better it tastes (it doesnt actually taste any different its an old italian myth) so in order to get white meat what does that mean? You have the bleed out the animalIn order to bleed out the animal while its alive they pump the calfs with chemicals to make them anemic. But because they are anemic and living in spaces where there are 12 to a pen, they constantly get sick. So in order to keep them alive the have to pump them FULL of antibiotics just so they are barely alive before they are slaughtered. This guy looked me dead in the face and said "dont EVER eat veal" and he owns a business in veal. Guess he didnt expect me to be a redditor... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voidisyinyang Posted August 17, 2013 Wow that's some sick info.... yep - business rules the U.S. - no values - just cut throat cannibalism. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan Posted August 17, 2013 .... and im WRONG to have violent and rageful feelings and thoughts and desires toward the "innocent" civilized world?!What is wrong with this scenario?OH I KNOW, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SonOfTheGods Posted August 17, 2013 .... and im WRONG to have violent and rageful feelings and thoughts and desires toward the "innocent" civilized world?! What is wrong with this scenario? OH I KNOW, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! This is how I see things, my own perspective: This planet, is a school. The curriculum is not supposed to be changed, rather, we are to learn by it. It is like if we do not like Algebra in school, we want the school to change it to something more of our own liking. The Earth, in this age, is supposed to suck so badly, that higher souls are repulsed by it, to make sure you no longer have any more anchors to it, in your next incarnation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeblast Posted October 17, 2013 Perhaps entirely unrelated, http://www.futilitycloset.com/2013/10/16/stick-fight/ The Rod of Asclepius, left, with a single snake, is the symbol of medicine. Unfortunately, a large number of commercial American medical organizations instead use the caduceus, right, which has two snakes. Asclepius was the Greek god of healing, but the caduceus was wielded by Hermes and connotes commerce, negotiation, and trickery. The confusion began when the American military began using the caduceus in the late 19th century, and it persists today. In a survey of 242 healthcare logos (reported in his 1992 book The Golden Wand of Medicine), Walter Friedlander found that 62 percent of professional associations used the rod of Asclepius, while 76 percent of commercial organizations used the caduceus. “If it’s got wings on it, it’s not really the symbol of medicine,” the communications director of the Minnesota Medical Association told author Robert Taylor. “Some may find it hard to believe, but it’s true. It’s something like using the logo for the National Rifle Association when referring to the Audubon Society.” 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idiot_stimpy Posted October 17, 2013 The caduceus could also symbolize the back bone with the lunar and solar energies rotating around and upwards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) With two snakes, that's the Staff of Osiris. It had the pine cone too, which the Greeks, in their turn, used as the symbol of healing and a vast number of other things with any number of snakes -- one, two, or none, e.g. on the staff of Dionysus. The pine cone got stolen. It can now be viewed in Vatican. Edited October 18, 2013 by Taomeow 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Owledge Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) Some say the pine cone symbolizes the pineal gland. All the dirty little secrect in the OP's link - unsurprisingly - boil down to the same thing: competing for money. That's why Bruno Gröning said money is the devil (or something like that). It is the medium or scarcity, the lifeblood of it's idea. When there is money, there is having it and not having it, the latter implying that you are lacking. When there is no money, the idea of ownership fades. There will be less "I have" and more "it's available here". Also, we need to go back to the small local supplier system, because that brings people closer together and doesn't give them the idea that they can get away with fraud, since all their customers are very close. Edited October 28, 2013 by Owledge 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites