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Price per pound
Jun. 10th, 2015 01:05 pmSometimes I shop in the import stores, where the packages are marked in metric units. I don't automatically think in metric, but I can do simple arithmetic in my head. If the package is 100g or 150g, or if I can figure out what the price per 100g or 150g is, I know I can just multiply that price by 4.5 or 3 respectively to get an approximation of the price per pound. (How accurate is this? It's within +/- 1%, because 1 lb = 453.6 g.) I can then see where it lies on a spectrum that includes Brach's Pick-A-Mix penny candies ($4/lb) and See's Candies (about $15/lb).
I saw a 75g candy bar for $1.95. So the 150g price is twice that; the per pound price is about $12. ($11.70 actually. I take the 1.95, and when I multiply that by six I can think of it as two dollars minus a nickel; so the answer is twelve dollars minus six nickels.)
I saw another 45g candy bar for $1.95. Multiply that by ten, and we now know it's about $19.50/lb. So I can ask myself, do I think this is better than See's Chocolates? And the honest answer may be "it's pretty good, but not a third better than See's."
(Multipliers that make it work: 450 = 45x10, 50x9, 75x6, 100x4.5, 150x3.)
Incidentally the two candy bars mentioned above were purchased at Holland International Market in Bellflower and The British Grocer in Fullerton, respectively.
Ironically, I have a harder task on the US measures. A 1.3 oz. candy bar? Hmmm.... that's less than a tenth of a pound... I'd probably whip out the calculator function on my phone to convert it to dollars per pound in that situation. (A quick calculation later, I learn that the price per 1.3 oz would be multiplied by 12.3 to get the price per pound.)
Shelf markings may show the price per ounce, or the price per pound. If it's per ounce, I have to multiply by 16 to get the per pound price. I'm not as good at doing that in my head. Quadruple it, then quadruple again.
I saw a 75g candy bar for $1.95. So the 150g price is twice that; the per pound price is about $12. ($11.70 actually. I take the 1.95, and when I multiply that by six I can think of it as two dollars minus a nickel; so the answer is twelve dollars minus six nickels.)
I saw another 45g candy bar for $1.95. Multiply that by ten, and we now know it's about $19.50/lb. So I can ask myself, do I think this is better than See's Chocolates? And the honest answer may be "it's pretty good, but not a third better than See's."
(Multipliers that make it work: 450 = 45x10, 50x9, 75x6, 100x4.5, 150x3.)
Incidentally the two candy bars mentioned above were purchased at Holland International Market in Bellflower and The British Grocer in Fullerton, respectively.
Ironically, I have a harder task on the US measures. A 1.3 oz. candy bar? Hmmm.... that's less than a tenth of a pound... I'd probably whip out the calculator function on my phone to convert it to dollars per pound in that situation. (A quick calculation later, I learn that the price per 1.3 oz would be multiplied by 12.3 to get the price per pound.)
Shelf markings may show the price per ounce, or the price per pound. If it's per ounce, I have to multiply by 16 to get the per pound price. I'm not as good at doing that in my head. Quadruple it, then quadruple again.
