tic tacs & 7 Eleven

[adamcotton]

For scale this guy was the size of a tic tac or three.

What does this mean? I have no idea what a 'tic tac' is.

Adam.

[bobw]

It's a sweet Adam, a small mint popular throughout the world.

[Chuck]

For scale this guy was the size of a tic tac or three.

What does this mean? I have no idea what a 'tic tac' is.

Adam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic_Tac

These are globally popular, often sold on the sales counter of 7 Eleven and similar small stores. In some regions- like Thailand- they are replaced by locally-made similar products (bootlegged). Check your local 7 Eleven (yes people, Thailand is loaded with 7 Eleven, they are more common in Thailand than in USA.)

[adamcotton]

Thanks Bob and Chuck, I thought maybe he meant some sort of pins.

Chuck is right, 7 Elevens are everywhere here. I live in the countryside, outside Chiang Mai and there are 2 within a kilometre of here and many more in a slightly larger radius. Just about every street in town has one. I rarely go in them myself except to pay electricity bills, although my wife and son do buy snacks there.

Adam.

[Chuck]

7 Elevens are everywhere here... to pay electricity bills

Amazing. Not sure how one might do that, but I believe you.

My favorite is a McDonald's in Bangkok, with Ronald outside doing sampai. Hey, are we off topic?

[eurytides]

Chuck beat me to it, but I was also going to express my surprise that you visit a 7/11 to pay your electricity bill. That’s wild.

[adamcotton]

Yes, there is a company (probably a subsidiary of 7 Eleven here) called 'Counter Service' that basically connects to various different amenities so you can go to the 7 Eleven and the cashier scans your bill, you pay it plus about 30 cents fee per bill and the service is available any time of day/night except between 10pm and midnight at any 7 Eleven in the country. It is definitely economical, compared to driving 15km to the Electricity office and back during office hours to pay the bill.

Adam.

[Paul K]

I want to add that you can not ( at least that was the case in 2013-2018) pay overdue electric bill at 7/11. That has to be paid in electric office directly which as Adam said is usually quite in the distance. But that is another opportunity to make an extra cash.
There is usually a person in the neighbourhood who’s collecting all outstanding bills and for a small fee drives to the office.
Keep in mind that in Thailand cash is still a major form of payment for everything. In western countries banks and governments pushed electronic payments (cards, debits, etc) in the name of convenience but in reality that allow them to grab your hard earned money in the form of all sorts of banking fees.

[nilzsz]

haha, sorry adam, i'll try to use a more universal, non proprietary candy scale next time

[adamcotton]

haha, sorry adam, i'll try to use a more universal, non proprietary candy scale next time

A length in inches or centimetres would be much more universally understandable.

Adam.

[adamcotton]

Keep in mind that in Thailand cash is still a major form of payment for everything.

Paul,

Actually, digital payment has taken off bigtime here in the past few years, with people scanning QR codes to pay for items in shops and even some street vendors accept digital payment.

Luckily most places still mainly use cash, but there are even some shops that do not accept cash at all, but even if I wanted to I cannot use them as I do not have a smart phone or internet banking.

Adam.

[Paul K]

Keep in mind that in Thailand cash is still a major form of payment for everything.

Paul,

Actually, digital payment has taken off bigtime here in the past few years, with people scanning QR codes to pay for items in shops and even some street vendors accept digital payment.

Luckily most places still mainly use cash, but there are even some shops that do not accept cash at all, but even if I wanted to I cannot use them as I do not have a smart phone or internet banking.

Adam.

Ah, a lot of must to change there too since I was in Thailand seven years ago.

[Chuck]

A length in inches or centimetres would be much more universally understandable.

Adam.

Admittedly, I thought tic-tac was a universally understood measure that doesn't carry the potential confusion of metric or imperial, and it readily explanatory to the mind's eye. To find it is not, well thus we have this interesting oddball thread.

But a tic-tac describes not just length, but width, height, and shape as well. It is more comprehensive that length, and it is shorter "tic-tac" vs. "5mm long x 3mm wide x 3mm high"

How big is the abdomen on a Ornithoptera priamus male? The size of your pinkie finger. No, it is not the size of your thumb.

How thin are butterfly antennae? As thin as a needle.

How much does a boat cost? More than you have.

Measurements can be deceiving. Denali is taller than Everest, it's just that Everest, having a higher base, reaches a greater altitude.

Long live the tic-tac measurement.