Get a load of these cuties
March 17, 2012 9:37 AM   Subscribe

Design Decoded, a new blog on Smithsonian.com, kicks off with a seven part series on the century-long process behind creating and marketing the perfect citrus. posted by Horace Rumpole (10 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
This wasn't about kumquats at all. :(
posted by TwelveTwo at 9:43 AM on March 17, 2012


A century ago, you couldn't show an exposed navel...
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:56 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


"Eating while laying down may pose a choking hazard."

So it makes sense to show a small child eating this way in a commercial for your fruit.
posted by Fizz at 10:05 AM on March 17, 2012


"Eating while laying down may pose a choking hazard."

Not really, although it depends on what you are laying down.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:21 AM on March 17, 2012


Not really, although it depends on what you are laying down.

Rhymes?
posted by Fizz at 10:37 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


Related, from the BBC: Japan's obsession with perfect fruit
posted by oulipian at 10:59 AM on March 17, 2012


When I first heard about these Cuties, I said to myself, 'Wait, aren't they just clementines?'
The names of small citrus fruits baffle me. But according to Wikipedia, it seems...
  • 'Mandarin' is an overarching term, under which are included...
    • Satsumas
    • Clementines
    • Tangerines
    • Cuties?
posted by Gordafarin at 1:41 PM on March 17, 2012


I got turned on to satsumas last summer, and am now a devoted fan. And where did I hear about them, you ask? Why, from the Judge John Hodgman podcast, of course. This is a weird century.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:25 PM on March 17, 2012


The New Yorker ran a story about the development of the Honeycrisp and SweeTango apples that touches on similar design issues around consumer acceptance and branding. Abstract.
posted by girlhacker at 3:42 PM on March 17, 2012


We expose fruit to high levels of radiation, but don't call it 'genetically modified'.
posted by narcoleptic at 5:49 PM on March 18, 2012


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