Hugo: Super-Size Soda

in america, bigger is better, in ever aspect. bigger cars, bigger homes, bigger food. does anyone really need a 42oz soda? or soda at all for that matter?

This is crazy. How anyone can physically stomach so much soda in one sitting is beyond me, let alone why they would want to do that to themselves anyway!

I'm also truly shocked at the price. Here in the UK a medium soda (400ml / ~14oz) is approximately £1 (about $2)!! I'm always puzzled when people state how cheap junk food is as I don't think it is that cheap at all but it appears to be considerably different over in the US.

It is definitely cheaper in the USA. Here in France, that kind of junk food is actually quite expensive (about 5-6 euros for a medium meal, soda + sandwich + medium fries, depending on the menu and on the place itself). I say this definitely way too expensive--fortunately for our arteries and waistlines, perhaps?

And 42 ounces, whoa, that's scary. I can't even stomach a tenth of that...

Dang, that is a lot of pop. I can hardly stomach one of the new mini half-sized cans... does anyone actually finish a soda this big or does most of it get thrown away?

Are they trying to make a reference to Hugo from Lost? Because that's pretty mean!

I would have to run to the bathroom to start getting rid of it long before I could finish.

Eventually we will pull up to the drive through window in our gas guzzling Hummers and have fast food outfits asking us if we would like to turbo size our super, jumbo ,triple-patty ,classic cheeseburger with double bacon and extra mayo and a doubleside of salted,ranch-flavored curly fries with a McHappy Quart of enriched concentrated Maple Flavored Pancake Syrup instead of an 89 cent Hugo ! Support the high fructose corn syrup farmer and the Diabetes Drug Pushing HMO Industry all at the same time ! God Bless America !

Okay, here it is: my very weak argument for this crap.

When my husband and I go through the drive through, he gets a "combo." I just get a sandwhich. Then, (gulp) he usually makes it a hugo (or whatever) because I snag a couple of his fries and we split the drink among the two of us.

That's 21 oz each, which is STILL a lot, i agree.

But, that's our drive-through story (which doesn't happen too often). And, I'm sticking to it.

:)

Sylvia C.

A classic case of unit bias.
http://duaneslifedevelopment.blogspot.com/2007/07/when-one-is-too-much.html

Croc said:

I'm also truly shocked at the price. Here in the UK a medium soda (400ml / ~14oz) is approximately £1 (about $2)!! I'm always puzzled when people state how cheap junk food is as I don't think it is that cheap at all but it appears to be considerably different over in the US.

Hey, Hugo from Lost - that's a good point! I saw this covered at Calorie Lab and Healthbolt too. Good, maybe we can get McDonald's to discontinue it.

This boggles my mind. I can't even finish a CAN of pop, let alone something that size. It's obscene! On the rare occasion I take my kids to Rotten Ronnie's, I don't even allow them to have pop; I think a small carton of chocolate milk is still a treat and a far better choice than pop.

The unfortunate thing is they are just following the demands of the market. People buy the giant sodas, they buy the quadruple-patty burgers with bacon and cheese. Often when fast food restaurants start to offer healthy choices, they are met with indifference and sluggish sales. Not that a salad made of iceberg lettuce and covered in ranch dressing is actually any good for you, but the point is that people who are looking for healthy foods pretty much know to avoid fast food completely. If you want a 42 oz. Coke, head for Mickey D's.

I can say for myself that I don't know the last time I went thru any fastfood restaurant or drive-thru. If people want to continue to blame others for their obesity they first have to look into the mirror. Nobody is holding a gun to their head. It's just that they want the most for their money even if its not good for them. They are slowly killing themselves and its nobodys fault but their own. Who can even drink 42oz before the ice melts?

Around here, we have a convenience store chain called Kwik Trip that sells the Mega Buddy soft drink...I think it's 46 ounces. It's huge, anyways. I got one once because I had to work late and I needed caffeine. I got a 46 ounce Diet Coke and after about 3/4 of it, my stomach started hurting from all that caffeine. I couldn't finish it...the ice was all melted and it was making the soda flat.

McDonald's knows what they're doing with the huge drinks. The profit margin is almost 100% on those...the syrup is pretty cheap and so are the CO2 tanks that they use for carbonation. Even selling them at 89 cents is making them a lot more money than their burgers, salads, or fries are.

Nic said:
Are they trying to make a reference to Hugo from Lost? Because that's pretty mean![...]

Does anyone else want to complete the sentence with: CHAVEZ?

A 4-gallon container of Coca Cola syrup runs about US$20.

Each 4 fl oz of syrup makes 1 gallon of soda.

There are a total of 512 fl oz in a container (4 x 128fl oz).

That is 128 gallons or 16,384 fl oz of soda (512 / 4).

16,384 fl oz, is 390 servings of 42 fl oz (16,384 / 42).

The syrup cost is therefore US$20/390 or US$0.0513.

A 10lb CO2 tank will make about 1,000+ sodas. The refill cost is US$5.

Therefore it is US$5/1000, or US$0.005 is the CO2 cost.

So the total hard cost of a 42 fl oz soda is, by my very rough estimation:

[drum roll]

US$0.056

libertate--that's cool...so it's more like a 2000% profit margin. Insane.

I think they are referencing the category 5 hurricane Hugo of 1989, which killed 82, and left over 50,000 homeless.

More than often i get a 42 ounce water or ice tea (without sugar). So, I think they are great.

People need to understand that weight loss will not occur if they are downing 42 oz sodas. For weight loss you need a healthy diet and a good fitness routine.

42 ounces is really more than enough. It may be a bargain but it's not worth the disadvantages when combined altogether.

Aaah, I'm not sure what's worse: the Hugo, or Wendy's new Baconator!

Well, I wouldn't want one and I certainly wouldn't want to be on a road trip with someone who'd just ordered one...

libertate said:
So the total hard cost of a 42 fl oz soda is, by my very rough estimation:

[drum roll]

US$0.056[...]

I remember when working at McDonalds some 10 years ago, I caught a glimpse of sheet our manager was reading which showed the costs for all food items. And yes, soda did fall under 10 cents! (I vaguely remember something like 6.5 or 7 cents.)

But, you are forgetting the costs of the water, cup, lid and straw. Not to mention the costs of labor, property tax, business taxes, etc.

Though, the soda would still today, even with all real costs included, probably not top $0.15

Erica said:
Does anyone else want to complete the sentence with: CHAVEZ?

Yeah, that came to my mind first as well. And he too, sells sticky black liquid that is bad for us :) Go Citgo!

I can easily drink two of those that size per day, of course, I always drink diet and never eat at fast food places like Mcdonalds.

Hey, if people want to eat all that crap and become obese, let em, it just makes me look better. Of course, they drive my health insurance costs up and that pisses me off.

Isn't this the sort of thing that leads people to overeat because they can't tell how much a normal portion is ? I'm overweight because I make meals for four people (like most recipe books would have you do) and then it's just me and the boyfriend who eat them. I've switched over to halving the recipes where possible and saving half for leftovers where not, but it took me a long while to realise that what I thought were normal portions were NOT.
Saying that a 42 oz is a 'serving' of drink, designed to be drunk by one person, and presumably in one go (you can't reseal the cup, can you ?) is misleading.

It's plain gluttony. Even for huge people, it will just stuff their stomach giving them no room for their real meal.

It just boggles the mind that anyone can drink that much of anything, much less a calorie laden drink.
if you are going to drink 42 ozs of anything, make it water.
And McDonalds is just, IMO, trying to polish their tarnished corporate backsides in light of "Supersize Me"

You know what? Wendy is re introducing the Greate Biggie size drink. This size is 64 ounces, on top of the inflated 20-ounce, 32-ounce, 42-ounce size.

(On top of that, my diet is slipping, even though I still haven't ate a french fry or drank a drop of soda in over a year and a half. I tried lately to re-portion my meals and add more vegetables. Darn it's tough to stick on a healthy diet...)

But I am still exercising though.

I can finish a diet soda that big... not a regular though. I often drink 1l of water followed by a 750ml diet soda, so the total amount of that is still less. Of course, this is hours after an actual meal and on a hot day - I could never eat + drink that much at once. Yes, I'm sick, I know.

I bought a regular when I was feeling a bit sick the other day and the machine didn't have diet and 40% of the can was all I could stomach. My mouth felt furry.

haha Hugo. The name makes me giggle. Huge-O anyone? Still makes me think big sizes and overweight people. Shame on you McDonalds, shame!

People for the most part don't drink the entire 42-oz soda all at once. They share it, or they may save it for later, or they may not even drink all of it. I've read their comments on another blog. And, they don't appreciate being dictated to as to what they should put in their own mouths.

Now, isn't this a pretty picture? All these people are measuring each other's butts while burning in the "lake of fire." Look! They are even using measuring tape. And, stranger still - someone's burning in the lake of fire, and asking the one next to her, "Does my butt look fat?" At a temperature of around 1700 degrees F, I think not. They will probably be walking around "looking for a Hugo" in order to put each other's flames out!

Not that it is not important to be healthy in this life, but I think that those of us who believe in the realities of the lake of fire, i.e., permanent death, not everlasting torment (since when did fire become a perservative?), I think we should be using our intellect to teach people about how Jesus can save them from this future rather than labeling them gluttons, fat,obese, or lazy because of what they look like on the outside. That is, if we really love people and care about their health. People are going to buy the drink no matter what Hugo looks like because they know it doesn't really matter what a person looks like on the outside. Everybody knows, or they should know, that it's what's on the inside that counts in the end. You can't judge a book by its cover. - John 3:16

Pam

Mickey D's tarnished image? Maybe to the elitists in America. I would be willing to wager that all of the "how can they drink it" and "I could never.." are actually obese. Fae it if you looked as good as you would like the readers to believe, you would be out living your life and not attempting to be politically correct gurus.

Super-Size mine and shut-up and sing another song
MAC

Well at least they names it appropriately, you drink this and you will become Hugo!
It is all about choice. You can choose to drink 42oz of pop, or you can choose to drink 42oz of water. I guess there are enough people out there that want to drink that much sugar, caffeine, and artificial chemicals and ingredients.

WELL I LOVE IT SO ALL OF YOU CAN GO TO HELL!!!

A Large Drink is not necessarily a BAD thing. In my family we usually share a drink so in this case a big drink for cheap means we can quench everyones thirst for under a buck. When Supersize was ended i was pissed at the fat ppl for ruining it for everyone.

Also I always get Diet so it's not unhealthy anyways.