The falling chips idiom means accepting the consequences of letting things take their natural course. Accepting without worry or regret. The saying originated in the 1800s with woodcutters- just chop the darn logs and don’t worry about where the wood chips land. And now, in the Age of Corona, Lays is chopping some chips. In 1974, there were four varieties of potato chips ( I’m guessing Plain, BBQ, Salt and Vinegar, and Ruffles. What do you think? It’s hardly worth Googling.) Today, four has become sixty. I’ve got a pretty good imagination and even accounting for no salt/ no fat (honestly, isn’t that the chip’s raison d’etre?) I can’t imagine coming up with sixty versions. When we can again loiter in the grocery store and rifle through the snack bags, maybe I’ll find an answer.
It’s not just chips that have been chopped. The IGA grocery chain trimmed its toilet paper offerings from forty to four. Campbell Soup, purveyor of 400 varieties is axing some of less popular ones. Ditto, car manufacturers and suppliers of baby carrots. Manufacturers and retailers are realizing that trimming product lines is good for their bottom lines.
And consumers are happier too. We don’t like no choice, but too many choices on a lot of stuff don’t make us happy either. Endless options frustrate and confuse us. And that is the paradox of choice in a nutshell. When less is more, it’s easier to find “just right”.