baked beans and prunes

[Jen Reese]

Carol:
> > Speaking of name changes, has anyone noticed that prunes are now
> > "dried plums," at least in the U.S.? Why? Has political 
correctness
> > gone so far that we can't refer to a fruit as a prune because 
the word
> > suggests wrinkles? Or is it because the manufacturers think 
we're too
> > ignorant to know what a prune is? I suppose raisins will 
become "dried
> > grapes" in the next few years. Why can't they leave the old 
names alone?


Annemehr:
> Nah, it's just because the word "prune" connotes "fruit you would
> never dream of eating except that you need the fiber to keep
> 'regular.'"  It's merely an image makeover.

Jen:
Just the other day a couple behind me had a big bag labeled "Prunes" 
so to the best of my knowledge ('round here in Texas at least) the 
generic companies still label them as such.

Speaking of food political correctness, I was in a toy store the 
other day and found those little candy cigarettes from the 70's. 
They were yanked from candy shelves sometime in the 90's I believe 
(maybe in conjunction with the tobacco lawsuits?) for presumably 
enticing kids to try the real things. But now they're back and 
retro, i.e. you're getting old if you remember them.

Jen, who didn't actually *buy* the candy cigarettes because she 
wants to remember them as they were and not find out they taste 
really crappy.