About this photo: Thematic. Vegetables. Here. Because they're good for you.Never let it be said that the land of my birth, the Canadian Province of Quebec, isn't a strange and wondrous place. For example, when I was growing up, Dr. Pepper was not sold in La Belle Province. Now, I didn't much care, as pop - oops, excuse me, boissons gazeuse, or soft drinks - have never really been my thing. Still, this product's absence from the store shelves was one of many examples of how different this part of the country was from the rest.
The popularly understood reason for Dr. Pepper's Quebec no-show was an interesting one: The word pepper is derogatory slang. If you described someone as such, you'd be just as likely to find yourself surrounded by a bunch of very angry people. I'm guessing the bottlers didn't want to change the name to something else.
These days, the drink is sold throughout Quebec. I'm guessing the word isn't as taboo as it once was. Or consumers simply wanted their sugared, fizzy drinks without having to drive across the border.
Your turn: Things you can't buy where you live. Please discuss.
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4 comments:
I never knew that about the word pepper or that Dr. Pepper couldn't be sold where you live, ages ago. Good to know. What I find hard to buy is E85 ethanol fuel, not many gas stations carry it. Nothing else other than some fireworks,you have to cross over to Wisc. to buy.....But I'll give it some thought! I'm not big on soda pop either, and imagine drinking Hot Dr. Pepper as I remember was a favorite of some. Again, the stems really stand out in your photo, very cool!
Pepper.
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A few decades back, you couldn't buy margarine in New Zealand without a doctor's prescription (the intent was to protect the dairy industry).
The current fuss is over regional pricing, specifically Adidas rugby world cup shirts. We are blocked from buying them from overseas websites, so we have to pay local prices, which are about twice as much as anywhere else. The same applies for products like e-books and iTunes downloads - dearer here than the US or even Australia.
Trendy grains: wheat berries, quino, etc . . .
Just noticed for the first time the other day: Mascarpone. Usually can't find this locally.
There are more, but they escape me now. Thank goodness for amazon!
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