Bill Gates attempts to guess the prices of everyday grocery items

What a fantastic idea! Thanks. I’ll make a note to do this in the future.

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Yes. But he is self aware that he is. He doesn’t pretend to know what is what…he admits it up front and is happily surprised by his way off projections.

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Based on what I recall from reading a biography 20 years ago I don’t think Bill ever spent much time in a grocery store.

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Probably confused by the lack of windows in most stores…

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That’s good, and my opinion on ‘richies’ in general being out of touch with the reality that the rest of us live in is no reflection upon the philanthropic endeavors Gates has made.

He’s not the worst apple of the bunch, by far.

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C.J.
We run the risk of appearing out of touch, like one of those Presidents who doesn’t know the price of milk. Sir, do you know the price of milk?

BARTLET
Not precisely.

C.J.
Neither do I. Do any of us? [question is greeted with silence]

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Btw, where I live milk costs about the same as gasoline.

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I see what ya did there. They should have shown him a bag of apples. :wink:

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Totally agree. My feelings on Bill and Melinda are positive simply because they do a lot of good and are self aware. Those two things remind me that they seemingly are compassionate people.

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Actually on a lot of things I have no idea what they cost because I know they’re not extravagant but they’re necessary so I just buy them. Like I don’t know exactly what gas cost this week because I don’t drive just for the fun of it and it’s going to cost what’s going to cost. Some things I’ll comparison shop in the store but not try to remember for next time.

Yes my family is economically secure at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about costs. We’ll shop the hell out of things where choices matter and most of my wife’s wardrobe comes from thrift and consignment stores.

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Hmmm, I bought laundry pods just two weeks ago and Bill’s 4 dollars seemed right to me so I checked my receipt. I paid $17 for 152 Kirkland brand pods (from Costco with a coupon), which works out to 11c/pod. Bill guessed 10c/pod. Ofcourse Tide brand from a grocery store is much more expensive, but basically this seems like a useless test.

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In Bill’s defense, whatever Tide Pods cost, he can afford it. I, on the other hand, don’t know this shit, and I’m broke. What’s my excuse?

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I grew up with Depression-survivor parents, and I know what it’s like to try to stretch a Postal Clerk’s salary to feed a family of five. So I’m familiar with the territory.

In recent years, my fortunes have improved to where I don’t much worry about grocery prices, but I do try to stay aware - in part because my favorite supermarket is a luxe upscale operation, so they will sell you some outrageously, unconscionably expensive items if you don’t pay attention to the prices.

But I’d have no idea of the prices of any of the things Ellen displays. Maybe they’re “pretty typical” “everyday” items to some people, but the closest I get is the dental floss (but I buy a fancy brand-name PTFE floss that doesn’t cut my gums, and I confess I really don’t pay attention to how much dental floss costs.)

So not knowing the price of a bag of frozen pizza rolls doesn’t mean I’m “out of touch”, it just means I never buy frozen pizza rolls.

Or Rice-A-Roni. Or Tide Pods. Or generic dental floss.

And if I wanted Spinach Artichoke dip, I’d go make some. My Depression-survivor mother would be spinning in her grave if I paid good money for something that simple. (-:

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If society collapses we’ll all become hagglers, and us anxious people will starve to death.

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Twenty bucks for Tide Pods? The same item in Canada is three bucks cheaper, and those are Canadian dollerettes that are about .79 USD. Is Tide dumping Pods in Canada? I smell a scandal .

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Not a lot of people know what everyday goods cost, if I recall, there’s an entire game show based around that trivia…

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https://twitter.com/HunterRobertAsh/status/964531183358005248?ref_src=twcamp^share|twsrc^m5|twgr^email|twcon^7046|twterm^3

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i do the weekly shopping for my household and over the course of a year i buy a wide variety of items so even though i don’t purchase exactly the identical items they tossed out there i was within 5% on the bunch. my wife and i even play what we call the “grocery store game” where i make a guess as to the cost of the entire basket before i start unloading it. then when i get home she looks at what i bring in as we put it away or, if she isn’t around when i get in, i read her the register itemization and she makes her guess. over the years we’re about even for wins.

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Who pays $3+ for dental floss?

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Wait…that can’t be. Twice zero is still zero.