Supermarket specials

I always do the mental arithmetic when deciding if something really is a good buy. However, I don't think it can have been taught in schools for many years because many of the younger women I know have absolutely no idea how to work out this type of thing (even with a calculator!)

And weren't those tests terrifying, absent? In our school, some teachers used the belt on those who froze in the face of such questioning!

I was always dumb with fear during those tests, and I was quite good at maths.
I did have a couple of teachers who were terrifying in any subjec!

Or even subject!

Having said that, I often get the sums right on Countdown when the contestants don't. Can't beat Rachel though.

I wonder if ours will be the last generation to be able to do mental arithmetic? I remember the older DDs pleading with me not to give in to youngest's request for a calculator when she was still in primary school asthey said she would never be able to do arighmetic any other way. I wouldn't say they are necessarily the greatest at it though, althugh eldest is now retraining as a Secondary Maths teacher)
Our mathe teacher used to reel off a string of numbers interspersed with "plus", "minus" ,"times", "divided by", (even "squared") and then stop and as you said, pick on someone for the answer - so woe betide anybody who lost the thread!

even "arithmetic" - the other sounds even more difficult.

Don't supermarkets still have to put the price per 100g or whatever on the shelf price markers, even for special offers? I always look at those anyway. (even though I sometimes have to virtually squat to read 'em!)

Ana I'm not sure that they have to put a "unit price" for anything. In any case, it is quite interesting how they find ways to use different measures – price per 100 gram and price per kilogram under different size packs in an effort to confuse those who have no idea how many grams there are in a kilogram or ml and litres in the same way.

Btw No all supermarkets have signed up to the agreement. ASDA is one that is still thinking about it.

Copied from a A 'Which' article

5 Problems with supermarket pricing

1. The unit price can be very small and difficult to see.
2. Retailers do not always give the unit price when they should.
3. The unit price does not have to be shown for promotions, such as multi- buys.
4. Fruit and vegetables frequently display the price per item or per Kg making it impossible to compare.
5. Different units are used for varieties of the same product (eg. per 100g and per Kg).

Which of course confirms what you say about unit pricing, absent.

Mental maths has been reintroduced to schools along with timetables as the powers that be finally acknowledged that their bright idea had been a mistake. Oddly the teachers never wanted to stop them in the first place but hey what do they know about education lol.