Are You a Purple Cow?

Is this you? Gayle Nicholson @flickr.com

Well, I’m back from my fabulous East Coast vacation. And, while I did eat a lot of ice cream (and I’m paying for it with burpees), my big takeaway was popcorn.
 
Going out, we had a one-hour layover at Chicago’s Midway Airport. That’s one hour that eventually turned into five. Now Midway is not a large airport. The food pickings are mighty slim. The first thing I noticed, however, was a place called “Nuts on Clark.” “Great!” I thought – a place to get some almonds or walnuts to keep up my energy. The line was snaking out the door and the smell was to die for. As I got closer, it became clear that “Nuts on Clark” had nothing to do with nuts of any kind. It was, in fact, a place that sold popcorn. Not just any popcorn, mind you – (self-proclaimed?) “World Famous” popcorn.
 
I bravely ignored “Nuts on Clark” (a brilliantly bizarre name) for the next four and a half hours. But I couldn't help but notice that the line was always long – really, really long. What was the hullabaloo about? That’s when I cracked. I had to have some. The woman in front of me raved. The guy two behind rhapsodized about the popcorn. Both said I should get the mix of caramel and cheese. I listen to the masses, I was ready to order.

As I waited and waited in line, it became clear why I was there. There was one cash register. It was obvious, that they needed at least two, if not three. But – and here’s the genius of their operation – by generating a long line, they created the illusion that everybody was “nuts” for popcorn. And we all fell for it because if the line was that long, well, it must be something special.
 
Let’s also be clear – overall, I thought the product was less than fabulous. Mind you, the caramel corn was addictive but the cheese popcorn left an awful orange residue on my hands. It was gross. And I won’t even tell you the ridiculous amount I paid for it. Given its “famous” designation and the number of die-hard fans I met in line, I was, and still am, in the minority.