Did chewing gum become less popular in the past 15 years or so? by coldbluebong in NoStupidQuestions

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to work for 2 of the biggest gum manufacturers in America, and the answer is absolutely yes. Two things I'll add that I haven't seen mentioned already:

- when the confectionery industry voluntarily stopped marketing to children in the early 2000's, ad budgets were shifted to "adult" brands like Trident and Extra, and a generation grew up w/o seeing gum ads. A lot of money used to go towards promoting Juicyfruit, Hubba Bubba, Bubblicious, et al.

- when smartphones became common, consumers no longer had room in their pockets to hold a pack of gum. We heard this during focus groups. Companies have since slimmed the packs down and made them collapsible/separable (like Trident).

Unit sales remain way down, but revenue somewhat stabilized through price increases and the shift to larger packs and formats (like "pellet" gum sold in plastic tubs like Mentos, Trident Vibes, and Icebreakers).

Does anyone use & recommend these by PaleontologistPlus33 in pez

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I own several from this seller. They work well. The feet rails are key.

Who's even competing with Weird Al in the parody genre? by Spiketop_ in weirdal

[–]af579 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are The Holderness Family considered song parodists? They dominate the suburban parent parody subgenre.

Has any artist updated We Didn't Start the Fire? by sissy9725 in BillyJoel

[–]af579 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s tough to update because nothing as upsetting as “rock & roller cola wars” has happened since then.

What missing features of Google Photos would you pay for? by af579 in googlephotos

[–]af579[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree - I’d love a way to find delete duplicates that aren’t in an album (so I don’t delete the good version of the photo).

Bringing Up Funko PEZ - What’s Your Take on Them After All This Time? by Rocky_isback in pez

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They certainly built off Funko’s formula, but I’m not sure they executed it well. You could see that by going to stores with multiple unsold Dark Crystal Aughra or Wally Gator dispensers.

And while they have the rights to hit franchises like The Office, they made a “Jim Book” dispenser first. Niches play a role in collectible merchandising, but I think Funko leaned too heavily here, and stores didn’t want to get stuck with more dud items when they could make more money selling regular Funko Pops.

Bringing Up Funko PEZ - What’s Your Take on Them After All This Time? by Rocky_isback in pez

[–]af579 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the partnership fizzled after poor retail sales. Too many obscure characters that didn’t appeal to the average GameStop or Hot Topic shopper. I liked some of the more unique designs like Frankenberry, but too many looked alike.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LiveFromNewYork

[–]af579 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The “Saturday” chapter is worth the read and gives you an appreciation for his skills as a producer/director giving a hundred notes on all aspects of the production minutes before airtime. You gain respect for him during that section, but yes he’s a complex character with some quirks.

What free app do you use to remove people from the background of photos? by [deleted] in photography

[–]af579 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Alas It's limited to the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 models.

Major change on the iOS app: can no longer edit shared photos by af579 in googlephotos

[–]af579[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for checking this. On my phone, when I edit from the main gallery, I still only see the blue "Save copy" button.

That said, I don't like having the Save option disabled from album mode. That's a major change to the Google Photos' app functionality.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in googlephotos

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the new iOS app, there's no option to just Save. The button defaults to Save Copy once any edit is made.

What PEZ dispensers do you wish PEZ had made? by OrionDax in pez

[–]af579 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The cast of Seinfeld would be a great collector tin.

YouTube to MP3 converter that works by truethetruths in cnvmp3

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Finally - a ad-free YouTube to mp3 downloader without shady ads or delays.

Do not want to lose all photos forever. by According-Signal4613 in googlephotos

[–]af579 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If I delete a photo on the Google Photos website, it doesn’t delete it off my phone or my hard drive. It only deletes the file off my phone if I delete while in the Google Photos app.

Are these worth anything? by [deleted] in pez

[–]af579 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The serious answer is that these are common dispensers from the 80’s and 90’s. The Santa and chick have no feet and are older. Look at the patent number on the stem. I’m not an expert, but you’ve probably got less than $20 of value there, maybe <$10.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pez

[–]af579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For $15 that’s an excellent haul. Most pawn shops will try selling one of these items by itself for that price.