Back when we were deciding on what kind of pet to get, we had the good fortune of pet-sitting for a family that had both a dog and a cat. Both animals had their quirks that we disliked - Comet the cat was about as indifferent a creature as has ever existed on this planet, and Penny the dog preferred the cat food so much that we had to feed her first and then let the cat eat locked in the kitchen. However, it was having to take the dog out regularly in the foulest of weather (to do the foulest of things) that really planted us more firmly in the cat camp.
So now we have two cats. Who poop indoors. A LOT. To avoid their litterbiscuits from stinking up the trash can after we scoop, we use sealable plastic bags to neutralize the acridity. But since we use bags more frequently for disposal than for actual storage of stuff in our refrigerators or cabinets, we've taken to buying a box of store brand bags for the cats and another box of the good stuff (Ziploc, Glad, what have you) for actual storage purposes.
The other day the planets aligned and we ran out of both kinds at once, so it went on the grocery list for our weekly run to the Stop & Shop. I got to the shelves with the plastic bags on it and grab a box of 40 store-brand bags, no problem. Then I stared at the shelves for a good two minutes trying to find your regular, garden variety brand-name yellow-and-blue-make-green bags. Apparently the Bag Makers' Collective of North America got together and quickly phased out these bags that worked perfectly well, likely because people are incredibly paranoid about a swarm of fang-wielding, flesh-hungry and generally ill-tempered killer bees escaping from a plastic bag that has not been properly secured while you make an important telephone call in an enclosed, unescapable place. (Yes, you know you've seen the ad.)
So instead, we are now forced to purchase bags that actually have a physical zipper at the top. The American sack-purchasing public now apparently needs the same security on their produce as they have on their pants. Personally, I'm a bit more interested in keeping my meat and two veg in their place than having my veggies possibly go bad in the fridge from an improperly-closed ziploc. All I can say is that if it gets to the point where I need to provide a thumbprint and a retinal scan just to get my carrot sticks out of storage, I'm cracking skulls.
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