General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIntroducing the $7.50 ice cube
Again, no, not The Onion.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/you-can-buy-ice-cubes-750-each-new-york-city
Consider a product selling in a gourmet store in New York's tony SoHo district. Gläce Luxury Ice is a meticulously designed and differentiated ice brand specifically designed for use in premium drinks and cocktails, reads a pitch at the website of Dean and Deluca. Gläce Ice pieces are individually carved from a 300 lb block to ensure flawless quality and a zero-taste profile, never contaminating the essence of premium liquors.
If you're so inclined, you can purchase a package of 10 of these fancy ice cubes. It'll run you $75 bucks, or $7.50 per cube (not including "Next Day Shipping to ensure freshness" .
At the same time, New York's much-abused homeless population is now at Great Depression levels, and according to a 2011 study conducted by the city, almost half of New Yorkers (46 percent) are living below or near the poverty line (defined as making less than 150% of the federal threshold).
What's next? Premium air?
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)to get the money out of them.
RudynJack
(1,044 posts)I don't understand people who get angry when rich people spend their money.
JI7
(89,172 posts)BainsBane
(53,001 posts)There's one born every minute.
malthaussen
(17,065 posts)... so Premium Air is not too hard to believe. In fact, when I was in Tennessee a few years ago, we needed to put some air in our tires. The gas stations near the superhighway charged fifty cents for air, but just a couple blocks down the road the price was "only" 25 cents.
As for the ice cubes -- there's a saying about a fool and his money.
-- Mal
TexasTowelie
(111,282 posts)The air pumps at the gas stations in my area are $1. Considering that my bicycle tires require 60 psi and they are never completely flat, that runs about a 1¢ psi.
brooklynite
(93,835 posts)You were paying for the electricity to pump the air into your tires.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)Whiskey stones are where its at, and at least the cost is justifiable and they are reusable.
http://www.vat19.com/dvds/whiskey-stones.cfm
And they are cheaper!
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)I tried them in my bourbon. They don't have the necessary heat capacity. But one doesn't have to pay $7.50. You can buy a "large cube" ice tray (made of silicone) that makes a very large cube which melts much slower. It also helps to keep the bourbon cold to begin with.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)I can see why though, rock is an insulator, it has so many microscopic holes. There are two ways to make an effective "drop in" cooler for drinks that isn't water based, one is a metal that's chemically neutral, Aluminum would fit the bill, though if you chill it too cold, it could drop the temperatures in the drink too rapidly and freeze the water in the drink almost instantly(flash freezing). Another way would be to increase the surface area of Whiskey stones, basically drill holes or pockmarks in them. Greater surface area means more exposure to the liquid, which will lead to a cooler drink.
ON EDIT: Speaking of large ice cubes, we have a set of silicone molds that shape the ice cubes into brains. Also doubles as a halfway decent jello mold.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)plus a pair of spherical molds. Still haven't figured out how to get the ice to freeze relatively clear. None of the techniques suggested (boiling the water, or using distilled water) have worked. It's not that important, just that it would be "cool" for them to be clear like the plastic prop cubes used in advertising
I have twice considered the soapstone cubes, too, only to then consider the fact of "dropping" them into the glassware. You can do that with ice due to the lower density. I'd be afraid of the occasional accidental drop and then having a tumbler that's just split in half to clean up.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)A fool and their money.......
People pay a lot for bottled water too.
hunter
(38,263 posts)And people who need it will spend it on necessary things that make this a much stronger nation.
People who sell this ice might be selling wholesome food to hungry people instead. I'm not blaming the people selling the ice, I'm blaming the system that makes such businesses viable.
So long as there are homeless and hungry people, or people who can't get medical care, then taxes ought to be progressive enough that the accumulation of vast personal wealth is impossible.
I don't generally respect people with money, and I wouldn't respect anyone who tried to impress me by buying this ice at all.
shanti
(21,670 posts)are obscenely rich. disgusting!
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)AnotherDreamWeaver
(2,846 posts)Rebellious Republican
(5,029 posts)Bake
(21,977 posts)Along with the $38K handbag.
Bake
RudynJack
(1,044 posts)but she never bought that handbag.
Bake
(21,977 posts)But COULD. Either one.
Bake
RudynJack
(1,044 posts)the one self-made black female billionaire, given all the other rich people who could've been mentioned.
Bake
(21,977 posts)She just came to mind because of the recent news story. A $38,000 handbag (whether she actually bought it or not) ... can you say "wretched excess?" I knew that you could.
I could say the same thing about Mitt & Queen Ann. In fact, I think I will. Wretched excess.
Oh, but nobody better say shit about Oprah!
Bake
RudynJack
(1,044 posts)She asked to look at it.
Why is that so offensive? Why is Oprah the #1 recipient of rich hate here? It makes no sense to me whatsoever. How on earth do you compare Oprah to Romney? One was born into poverty and built her fortune through her own work and her own company, the other was born into wealth and increased it by fucking people over.
Should we hate people automatically if they have wealth? I know more than a few people who are very well off who come from poor backgrounds. They're solid liberals, and they use their money to reinforce their political beliefs.
Having money is not a sign of conservatism.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I suppose I could afford a $7.50 ice cube also... it's about as much as the pack of smokes I purchase daily.
I'd imagine you could afford $7.50, too... but as far as I know, you haven't bought the ice either...
Possibly you and she and I simply choose not to buy it.
Good luck, though!
underpants
(182,271 posts)brilliant but at the same time sad
Recursion
(56,582 posts)What's the matter with people?
Recursion
(56,582 posts)The future is now...
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)but that didn't quite count.
Is pollution there that bad? They could expand to Beijing and Mexico City.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Not so much pollution (though there's that, it's not nearly on the Beijing or Mexico City or even LA level), just a bunch of rainwater, human waste, and dead things lying around all over the city.
Right now we still have the monsoon blowing (strictly, the monsoon is the seasonal wind) off the ocean, so everything smells nice. Well, comparatively nice.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)I just found a lab-device that can purify tap-water to a degree that it's considered suitable for microbiological experiments.
Price: 12,000
Output: 70 liters per day.
That's about 10,000 ice-cubes per day.
That's about 0.83 per ice-cube, about $1.10.
How did they come up with $7.50?
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Martin Riese, general manager and certified water sommelier of Rays and Stark Bar in Los Angeles, has created a water menu of 20 mineral waters from 10 countries. The water menu, which debuted August 5, is presented to diners just like a wine list or food menu....
Serving water in this way is not pretentious at all, he said, addressing critics. Just go to the Shell gas station up the street they sell 18 different brands of water! People realize they have a favorite brand. This is just presenting the water in a more formal way, while educating guests.
The most expensive bottle on the water menu is $20 and made by Canadian brand Berg.
NM_Birder
(1,591 posts)How about the yearly memberships at the "Solar Tanning Experience", stupid spends as stupid does.